Xidi: Ink and Wash on Xuan Paper

Six hundred years have flowed through white walls and black tiles. Xidi Ancient Village, with its horse-head walls, has written a three-dimensional Huizhou epic in the valleys of southern Anhui. When the clouds and mist of Huangshan Mountain drift over Leigang Mountain, this Ming and Qing dynasty architectural complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, becomes an unfinished ink scroll on xuan paper. Bluestone alleys wind like the spine of a thread-bound book, stringing together the secrets of 124 ancient houses. The Hu Wenguang Memorial Archway embodies loyalty, filial piety, propriety, and righteousness with exquisite stone carvings. The "Filial Piety" stele in the Hall of Respect and Love is imprinted with Confucianism. The fallen banana leaves in Qingyunxuan still tell of the glory of Huizhou merchants. Brick carvings filter the light of the four seasons, projecting stories of fishing, woodcutting, farming, and studying onto the Yixian bluestone slabs. Even the horse-tethering stones in the corners hide secrets. Stepping into the setting sun under the merchant's gate, you can smell the mellow aroma of agricultural civilization fermenting by the Moon Pond. The autumn sun shines on the drying ground, ablaze with the colors of chili peppers and chrysanthemums. In spring, a sea of rapeseed flowers surrounds the scattered rooftops. When winter snow covers the eaves of the ancestral halls, it's as if you can hear the whispers of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism between the beams and pillars. As night falls, red lanterns light up the alleys one by one, and the melodious sounds of Huangmei Opera drift from the ancestral hall stage. Century-old ham simmers on the stove, brewing the taste of time. This "Home in the Peach Blossom Land" has always maintained the integrity of its clan's heritage. An hour's drive from Huangshan City brings you to this living Huizhou picture book. Xidi is not as bustling as other places. It invites you to peruse the carved doorways like pages in a book, and discover the oriental wisdom of a family living in harmony with nature.