Chuandixia Village in Beijing
Attractions Overview
On the ancient land of Beijing lies an ancient mountain village, quiet and unique. It is "the cultural pearl of the ancient village"- Chuandixia Village, which is quietly hidden in the deep valley in the west of Beijing.
Chinese Name: 爨底下村
English Name: Chuandixia Village
Type: Cultural Scenic Area, Beijing famous spots & Cultural attractions
Best Time: All Year Around
Recommended Visiting Hours: 3-5 hours
Opening Hours:all day
Ticket:35 yuan/person
Location: Zhaitang Town, Mentougou District, Western Suburb of Beijing
Why is Chuandixia Village so Special?
Chuandixia village lies on an ancient post road, 60km far form Beijing. It was first built in the Ming Dynasty, where the Han’s Family has inhabited. After its development for several generations, it became a flourishing inn on the post road. Populated by many people, its economics is dominated by farming, combining farming with trading, ploughing with reading. Chuandixia village, having a long history of several hundreds of years, has retained the beauty of traditional culture, relics and vernacular environments. It is known for its well preserved 500 Ming and Qing dynasty-style courtyard houses owned by 70 families, ancient but unsophisticated, just like another “Shangri-la”.
History of Chuandixia Village
The whole family name of Chuandixia village (owner and children) is Han. According to legend, it was immigrated from under the pagoda tree in Hongdong County, Shanxi Province in the Ming Dynasty. The original village was located at the old grave in the northwest of the village, but the whole village was destroyed due to flash floods. Only one young man and woman survived the trip.
In order to continue the descendants of the Han nationality, the two married through the medium of grinding and set up a village in their current location. The three children born after the marriage have grown to 17 generations so far.
Chuandixia village has a history of more than 400 years, and now it has more than 500 quadrangle dwellings in Ming and Qing dynasties. it is the first time in our country that a relatively complete ancient village building complex has been found. it has reasonable layout, strict structure, distinctive features, strict level of gate buildings, exquisite carving of gate piers, unique craftsmanship of brick carvings and screen walls, and numerous murals and couplets.
Overview of Chuandixia Village
The whole village has a population of 29 households and 93 people, with 280 mu of land, 74 courtyards and 689 houses. Most of them are quadrangles and sanhe courtyard built in the late Qing dynasty (a few were built in the Republic of China). It is built on the mountain and depends on the situation. The height is staggered. The center of the circle is the dragon head behind the village. The north and south axes are fanned out on both sides. Murakami and the village are separated by an arc-shaped wall 200 meters long and 20 meters high. The front of the village is surrounded by an arc-shaped wall 170 meters long, which makes the whole village more united. The three passages are used to passing through the upper and lower parts and have the functions of flood prevention and banditry prevention.
Chuandixia is a national 3A scenic spot, a municipal civilized unit and a municipal folk tourism professional village. In 2003, it was awarded the first batch of famous villages in Chinese history and culture by the State Ministry of Construction and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, and a district-level revolutionary traditional education base.
Characteristics of Chuandixia Village
Village name
A total of 30 strokes, with the sound of cuàn, can be broken down for the convenience of memory and said: the head of the word xing, the waist of the word Lin and the lower part of the big word Lin are set on fire. if the forest is set on fire, the more it is set on fire, the more prosperous it will be, and it will not be very hot. while all the people under the name of cuan are Han, the homophonic (cold) means cold. cold and heat can complement each other in the five elements, and everything in the universe will have a place one day and a month one day.
Quadrangle
Compared with the Beijing quadrangle, the quadrangle under Cuanxia has similarities and differences. The size of the main room, the size of the wing room, the gate house over there and the central axis are all regulated by fengshui.
screen wall
It’s really wonderful. With exquisite materials and fine workmanship, the colorful screen wall has the main functions of showing great wealth, looking spectacular, avoiding evil spirits and greeting good luck.
Cultural relics
The ruins of old villages in the Ming Dynasty, residential houses in the Qing Dynasty, murals, good news, ruins of houses burned by Japanese troops during World War II, anti-Japanese outpost sites, slogans in the fifties, sixties, seventies, ancient grinding, ancient grinding, ancient wells, and ancient temples make people feel history, Cang Sang, and wander among them, such as tasting old wine.
Tourism resources
Ticket information
Tickets: 35 yuan
Children under 1.2 meters are free of charge. Senior high school students, middle school students and primary school students hold student ID cards 18 yuan/person, and the elderly hold senior citizen ID cards 18 yuan/person.
Holders of my press card, tour guide card, retirement card, disability card and active duty military card are exempt from the ticket.
Local accommodation
There are 44 households in the village, almost all of which are inns. It is said that the accommodation is relatively tight during the holiday. It is better to find an inn before noon or book it before going.
Local diet
If you eat farmhouse food in an inn, you can eat all the popular dishes in the north. The average consumption per capita is 20-30 yuan.
Travel planning
According to their own purpose and mood of play, choose the appropriate way.
1. Look at historic sites, eat farmhouse meals, and don’t want to spend the night there:
Starting early in the morning, I went up and down the village to find a farmhouse to eat farmhouse food. In the afternoon, I visited Guandi Temple and Niangniang Temple on the opposite mountain to see the whole picture of the village on the opposite mountain. If it was fast, it would take me an hour. If you have time, you can still go to the sky. You can walk straight along the highway, and it takes less than an hour to get back and forth.
2. Experience folk customs, have enough time to rest quietly and live a few days away from the city.
Apart from all the things that can be seen in the scenic spot, the most important thing is to find a farmhouse to live in, walk slowly, walk around, chat with the villagers, swing at the foot of the mountain, and be stunned if you want to be stunned. At this time, time is wasted. This is rest. The wild hillside behind the village is also a good place to stroll and relax. The slope is not big, but the view is very good. There is an ancient plank road to practice footwork.
3. To satisfy the outdoor sports plot, go to the nearby Scenery, look at the alpine meadow and beautiful flowers, shout several times at the mountains, then hum a ditty, come to the small bottle of Erguotou, and go back to the ingot-shaped village with the old goat herder. It takes 5-6 hours to go back and forth.
How to get there
1. Bus+Taxi:
Subway Apple Orchard Station takes 892 to Zhaitang from 6: 30 to 17: 50 west. It takes a total of 39 stops and takes about 3 hours and 50 minutes to reach Zhaitang. It is said that there is an 8-kilometer road from Zhaitang to Cuanbai scenic area and then to Cuanxia village. You have to get off at Zhaitang and change to a taxi. It is said that Zhaitang can take a (black) bus to 15 yuan under Cuanxia to bargain.
2. Self-driving
Control the return time by yourself, the best way to travel. Follow national highway 109 to the 84.9km exit national highway, then walk 5 km to Kaiyang.
