[2025 Xinchang Attraction] Travel Guide for Meizhu Village (Updated Jun)

Meizhu Ancient Village Meizhu Village, named for its abundance of plum trees and nearby settlements in ancient times, is an administrative village under the jurisdiction of Chengtan Street, Xinchang County, Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province, and a traditional Chinese village. It is located 10 kilometers southwest of Xinchang County, with a village area of 3.2 square kilometers. Meizhu Village faces south and is shaped like a boat. Boiling water flows along the street from west to east, and seven ponds are distributed in various sections, all connected by boiling water, commonly known as the Seven Star Ponds. The village retains a large number of valuable ancient buildings from the Ming, Qing, and Republic of China periods, including front ponds, watchtowers, nunneries, ancestral halls, residences, and shops. The ancient buildings feature large beams, spacious pavilions with flying eaves and carved beams, window lattice patterns, and luxurious decorations, making it a museum of folk architectural carving art. Meizhu Village has intangible cultural heritage such as the art of making fermented wine, handmade tofu, Ten Tunes, and paper cutting. On June 6, 2019, it was included in the fifth batch of traditional Chinese villages. In October 2021, it was included in the list of beautiful leisure villages in China for 2021. Baidu describes the ancient village as a delicate embroidered ball. Although the government has spent some funds to repair some facades, residents have long lived in buildings from the Qing and Republic of China periods. Large-scale renovation and repair still need some time. Therefore, it inevitably gives tourists the impression of dilapidation and clutter under the buildings.

Meizhu Ancient Village got its name because of the abundance of plum trees in ancient times. It is located in Xinchang County, Shaoxing City. Meizhu Village faces south and is shaped like a boat. Boiling water flows from west to east along the street, with seven ponds distributed in various sections, all connected by boiling water, commonly known as the Seven Star Ponds. The village retains a large number of valuable ancient buildings from the Ming, Qing, and Republic of China periods, including front ponds, watchtowers, temples, ancestral halls, residential houses, and shops. The front pond in Meizhu Village is rectangular, covering an area of more than 2 acres, with a depth of 2-3 meters. It is surrounded by stone walls, with equidistant flower columns and stone railings along the street. In summer, the village is sparsely populated, and most shops are closed. The village is not large, and the entire tour can be completed in about 20 minutes.

Meizhu ancient village is a traditional village located in Xinchang. The village is not far from Xinchang county town and has been beautifully renovated. Stone paths are lined with colorful flowers, and in May, windmill jasmine blooms with small white flowers. The climbing windmill jasmine emits a faint fragrance from its hanging branches. Tourists dressed in white Hanfu with exquisite horse-face skirts, hair buns, and a gentle sway, match perfectly with the quaint houses and courtyards. The village retains ancient architectural features such as front-yard ponds, watchtowers, temples, residences, and shops, with ancient buildings featuring flying eaves, carved beams, lattice windows with hidden patterns, and wooden carvings with distinctive styles. Meizhu village possesses intangible cultural heritages such as wine-making skills, tofu-making skills, embroidery, and paper-cutting.

"Half of the complete Tang poetry is in Xinchang" Famous Tang Dynasty poets such as Li Bai, Du Fu, Wang Xizhi, Meng Haoran, and Bai Juyi have all visited this treasured Jiangnan town and created more than 1,500 Tang poems. · Hello everyone, I am Bu Chi Jing 🐳, a female photographer who has been traveling 📷 · 📍Location: Xinchang, Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province 🚄Transportation: 1.5 hours by car from Hangzhou, or you can take the high-speed rail to [Shengzhou Xinchang Station] 🏨Hotel: You can choose to stay in Shengzhou city or in the scenic area, about 100r per person 🍜 Food: 1️⃣ Tang Poetry Banquet: Every dish is named after a Tang poem, which is very interesting and fun for me 2️⃣ Lamb bone soup: Almost every snack bar has lamb bone soup, which is the specialty here 3️⃣ Xinchang Fried Rice Cake: Although it is called Fried Rice Cake, it is very juicy and delicious 🗺️Xinchang 2-day tour route: Day 1: Xinchang Big Buddha Temple ➡️Meizhu Ancient Village ➡️South Street ➡️Big Buddha Temple Lantern Festival Day 2: Xiayanbei Village ➡️Tianmu Mountain · ✅Xinchang Big Buddha Temple The filming location of "Zhou Sheng Ru Gu" is known as the "Dunhuang of Yue Kingdom". Here is the largest reclining Buddha in Asia, which is very shocking. 🎫Tickets: Currently free 🕑Business hours: 8:30-17:30, the lights will last until 21:00 🗺️Tour route: Shuanglin Grottoes (the largest reclining Buddha in Asia) ➡️Buddha Heart Square ➡️Big Buddha Temple (the largest Buddha in Jiangnan) ➡️Prajna Valley ➡️Qiguang Jingyuan ➡️Wanfo Temple · ✅Tianmu Mountain Li Bai's famous poem "Dreaming of Wandering on Tianmu Mountain and Chanting a Farewell Song" was written here. It is also the filming location for many TV series and movies. If possible, it is recommended to watch the sunrise at the top of the mountain. 🎫Tickets: 🆓 🕔Business hours: 8:00-16:30 🗺️Travel route: Xingyue Terrace➡️Cloud Valley➡️Tianmu Hidden Terrace➡️Tianji Terrace➡️Bamboo Forest Secret Realm➡️Gold and Silver Terrace➡️Tianmu Poetry Courtyard · ✅Meizhu Ancient Village The ancient village with a thousand-year history was first built in the Song Dynasty. You can see a large number of ancient buildings from the Ming, Qing and Republic of China periods. There is no commercialization here, only the indigenous people are here, and the atmosphere is full of fireworks everywhere 🎫Tickets: 🆓 🕑Business hours: All day - ✅ South Street Also known as [Carbohydrate 30,000 Miles], as the name suggests, the whole street is full of all kinds of delicious food, and carb lovers are ecstatic❗️❗️This is a gathering place for Xinchang's special food and snacks, Xinchang rice cakes, taro dumplings, squeezed noodles, spring pancakes, pot-pulled heads, rice tea, wheat flower soup, etc. 🎫Tickets: 🆓 🕑Business hours: All day · ✅Xiayanbei Village The scenery is picturesque, with green mountains and thousands of acres of tea plantations. From here you can see the 19 peaks and the U-shaped Grand Canyon, and it is also suitable for hiking. 🎫Tickets: 🆓 🕑Business hours: all day

Visiting Meizhu ancient village made me even more certain of this. Although it's a tourist area, it's closer to the small village of my childhood, especially the old street, which resembles the one in my memory of the town, only it's been renovated. It seems that everyone's memory contains simple, warm, yet irreplicable scenes that we can't forget. The six stray cats that grandma fed during meals, grandpa carrying a bucket to water the vegetables, the five o'clock broadcast and the scent of meals from house to house, the mothers who strolled around with their children after dinner, and me, who saw the sunset in the fields and couldn't bear to go home. In Meizhu ancient village, it's like I've come face to face with life from my childhood days. Friends who go there can try the carelessly made dumplings on the old street, they are delicious and satisfying. The old street at night, with its hanging lanterns, has an even more atmospheric feel, and it's worth taking a stroll. I suggest visiting Meizhu ancient village and the Great Buddha Temple scenic area together, as the two places are not far apart. Meizhu Village