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Top 10 Ancient Towns and Villages in China

(www.chinatouristmaps.com)
Updated: 2009-11-17 17:24

3. Hongcun near the southwestern slope of Huangshan Mountain, Anhui Province

Hongcun Village is located near the southwestern slope of Huangshan Mountain. It is listed as one of China's top 10 charming villages and together with Xidi Village it was added to UNESCO's World Cultural Heritage List in 2000. Morning mists, gray tiles, white walls, stone bridges, water lily ponds, and hills at the background, are all elements of traditional Chinese landscape paintings. Hongcun Village has all of these features, and has been named "a village in the Chinese painting". It is an inspiration for artists and film directors. Hongcun Village was the location for one of the fighting scenes in the movie "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", directed by Ang Lee. The film won Oscars for the Best Foreign Film and Best Cinematography categories.

What makes Hongcun Village so unique is that the village was designed by a fengshui master to resemble a cow. Visitors to Hongcun Village's tour guides will interpret which part of the village is the anatomical equivalent to the cow. Hongcun has a elaborate web of gravel lanes and a complex watering system through which water from the outside pool can be directed to every family.

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