by Nicole Chabot

Few regions of China are as spectacular, or as filled with cultural treasures, as Huangshan City in Anhui Province in Eatern China.

Not many places give the casual visitor a more authentic glimpse of traditional Chinese village life than Huangshan. And the region, in the shadow of the mountain that gives the area its name, is equally hard to beat for breathtaking scenery. Located in Anhui province in the east of the country, the region is a popular tourist attraction both for the mountain ¨C a Unesco World Heritage Site that is one of China's most iconic peaks ¨C and for the breadth of other natural and cultural attractions to be found there. Huangshan boasts another World Heritage Site ¨C the ox-shaped feng shui layout of Hongcun and nearby bucolic village of Xidi ¨C and has a pristine, untouched, traditional feel that's completely at odds with most of modern China. A trip there represents a journey back in time, an insight into a traditional side of the country that's steadily vanishing.
The village of Hongcun in Yi county, near the city of Huangshan, is not only feng shuied to the max; it's even designed in the shape of an ox. From the cobbled pathway leading into the village, inlaid with never-ending knots and swastikas ¨C meaning "so be it" in Sanskrit ¨C to the arched stone bridge which appeared in the opening scene of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hongcun's blend of natural world and man-made settlement is uniquely atmospheric. It was made a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 2000.

The village, which dates back to the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), was identical to many others before repeated fires demanded change. Funded by a wealthy merchant, the villagers commissioned a feng shui master to determine a suitable layout for the settlement in the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). This early urban planner took a decade to decide upon the form of a reclining ox; it then took more than 100 years for the village to be completed, in 1607.

The ox, of course, is one of the 12 signs of the Chinese zodiac. People born in ox years are said to enjoy helping others, to be truthful and sincere, and to rarely be driven by the prospect of financial gain. It's likely that the feng shui master would have believed his layout would confer such characteristics upon the villagers.

Such traits were in harmony with the Confucianist ideals that were popular at the time that the village was rebuilt, the golden age of merchants originating from Huizhou ¨C today's Huangshan. These early business travellers roamed widely across China trading such items as salt, cloth and stationery. With their riches they built houses, schools, ancestral halls and archways. Their legacy is known as the Hui architectural school.

In keeping with the tenets of feng shui, the village was set out with a mountain at its rear. This hilly heap, known as Leiguang mountain, forms the head of the ox. Other natural features ¨C the river that runs through the village, and red poplar and gingko trees ¨C form the tail and horns of the ox respectively. What nature couldn't provide, the villagers constructed. The four bridges that span the Yushan river in the west of the village stand for the legs of the ox while the village houses represent the body of the animal.

The form of the ox helped the village with its water supply. Early construction involved building a crescent moon-shaped spring, to represent the stomach of the ox, called Nan Lake. A dam on the Xi Xi river and a 400m canal to redirect water from the western end of the village to the east were also built. These represent the intestines of the ox: the main thoroughfare constitutes the large intestine and the small intestines flow into the dwellings as roads.

The Moon Pond, the village's centrepiece, represents the heart of the ox. Situated at its centre, it's surrounded by Ming and Qing Dynasty (1368-1912) houses whose solemn facades are reflected in the water. At the water's edge, women carve dried meat

or rinse leafy Chinese vegetables. Geese float by before heaving themselves out of the water to shake dry their plumage and preen their feathery coats. It's the focus of numerous artists who flock to the pond attempting to capture its essence. Many end up extending their sojourns to do so.

The 50-plus grey and white houses around the pond sport the region's soaring horse-head walls, introduced to prevent the spread of fire and block wind. They were built initially at every fifth family's threshold before all of the villagers demanded them. Craftsmen wanting to add a flourish fashioned the tops of the walls to resemble horses.

The Hui dwellings are made from brick, wood and stone. Horizontal supporting frames were heavily decorated with carvings, as were pillars, doors and windows; the level of craftsmanship and the elaborateness of the carvings denote the owner's wealth.

The carvings depict water, mountains, flowers and lucky animals such as phoenix, tigers, lions and elephants, as well as scenes from traditional opera, folklore and daily life.

A typical dwelling is a compound with two-storied buildings on three or four sides around a courtyard. Diminutive windows and high surrounding walls shielded women, helping to allay the merchants' fears about their wives' fidelity; in fact, women from

upper-crust families who were not required to work were confined to their dwellings from birth to death, and many of the buildings feature raised thresholds between rooms to restrict their movements and prevent them from running away. Above the door on the outside is a roof or arch known as a door shadow. Such features are rich with brick carvings that are laden with symbolic meanings. The front doors open onto winged forecourts, some of which have flower beds or fish ponds where carp swim.

On the ground floor the central hall is flanked by bedrooms. Generally the entrance faces three master bedrooms, which would have been occupied by the matriarch and patriarch or grandparents. The living room, in the middle of the house, is normally

flanked by two larger rooms; sons would have lived in the room to the east, and daughters and guests in the room to the west.

In front of the living room is a sky well, an open space in the roof through which water enters, symbolising wealth.

An upper-floor balcony usually runs around three or four sides of the courtyard. Many of the balconies have so-called "beauty recliners," special benches set along the balustrade where the women of the family would sit and a trumpet player would play on occasions such as marriages, births and deaths.

Hongcun was one of the most prosperous villages in historic Huizhou ¨C so perhaps the feng shui master's layout worked.

Today, its popularity with tourists means that the fortunes of the villagers are once again on the rise.