Dating to the southern Song dynasty, the delightful village and Unesco World Heritage Site of Hóngcūn, 11km northeast of Yīxiàn, has crescent-shaped Moon Pond (月沼, Yuè Zhǎo) at its heart and is encapsulated by South Lake (南湖, Nán Hú), West Stream (西溪, Xī Xī) and Léigǎng Mountain (雷岗山, Léigǎng Shān). Founding village elders of the Wang (汪) clan consulted a feng shui master and the village was remodelled to suggest an ox, with its still-functioning waterway system representing its entrails.
The village remains a charming and unhurried portrait of bridges, lakeside views, narrow alleys and traditional halls. Alleyway channels flush water through the village from West Stream to Moon Pond (the stomach of the ox) and from there on to South Lake, while signs guide visitors on a tour of the principal buildings. Lost? Just follow the water flow.
If the bridge at the entrance to the village looks familiar, it’s because it featured in the opening scene from Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon . The picturesque Moon Lake also features in the film. Built by a salt merchant, the Chéngzhì Hall dates from 1855 and has 28 rooms, adorned with fabulous woodcarvings, 2nd-floor balconies and light wells. Peepholes on top-floor railings are for girls to peek at boy visitors and the little alcove in the mah-jong room was used to hide the concubine. The now-faded gold-brushed carvings are said to have required 100 taels of the expensive stuff and took over four years to be completed.
Other notable buildings include the Hall of the Peach Garden (桃源居, Táoyuán Jū), with its elaborate carved wood panels, and the South Lake Academy (南湖书院, Nánhú Shūyuàn), which enjoys an enviable setting beside tranquil South Lake. Overlooking Moon Pond is a gathering of further halls, chief among which is the dignified Lèxù Hall (乐叙堂, Lèxù Táng), a hoary Ming antique from the first years of the 15th century. Turn up bamboo carvings, trinkets and a large selection of tea at the market west of Moon Pond. The busy square by Hóngjì Bridge (宏际桥, Hóngjì Qiáo) on the West Stream is shaded by two ancient trees (the ‘horns’ of the ox), a red poplar and a gingko. Léigǎng Mountain serves as the head of the ox.
Admission to the village includes a guide with limited English-speaking skills – you’ll have to engage one at the main entrance in case you enter by the side gate.
