Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui – Xidi and Hongcun

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Preserving the Past: A Journey Through Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui - Xidi and Hongcun

The ancient villages of Xidi and Hongcun, nestled in the heart of southern Anhui province, offer a captivating glimpse into China's rich cultural heritage. Inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000, these two traditional settlements have managed to maintain a remarkable degree of authenticity, preserving the essence of rural Chinese life from centuries past.

UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site

The two traditional villages of Xidi and Hongcun preserve to a remarkable extent the appearance of non-urban settlements of a type that largely disappeared or was transformed during the last century. Their street plan, their architecture and decoration, and the integration of houses with comprehensive water systems are unique surviving examples.

UNESCO Justification of the World Heritage Site

Criterion (iii): The villages of Xidi and Hongcun are graphic illustrations of a type of human settlement created during a feudal period and based on a prosperous trading economy.

Criterion (iv): In their buildings and their street patterns, the two villages of southern Anhui reflect the socio-economic structure of a long-lived settled period of Chinese history.

Criterion (v): The traditional non-urban settlements of China, which have to a very large extent disappeared during the past century, are exceptionally well preserved in the villages of Xidi and Hongcun.

Encyclopedia Record: Hongcun

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