Hongcun Village is an ancient village with a history of 400 to 500 years. The original residential style and features of the Ming and Qing Dynasties were preserved perfectly there. It was inscribed into the list of the World Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000.
Hongcun Village has a cattle-like plan, a stream passes by every door in the village like a cattle’s gut, a semi-lunar pond looks like the cattle’s stomach, and the four bridges over the stream from the cattle’s feet. With marbled ground, black tiles, fresh red lanterns, elaborate woodcarvings and amazingly comprehensive water system, it is known as ‘the folk imperial palaces’. It is an architectural miracle constructed by the ancient people in accordance with the bionics.
The peaceful environment and beautiful surroundings present outsiders a piece of pleasing and tranquil picture of a typical country life in South China. Possessing most attractive natural sceneries and more than 140 well preserved ancient houses, Hongcun Village always welcomes plentiful visitors all year around.
Thanks to famous film director Lee Ang, he found this splendid place and made it as a main scene for the Chinese film “Wo Hu Cang Long (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon)”. In the 73rd Academy Awards, the film won Best Foreign Film, Best Original Score, Best Cinematography, and Best Art/Set Direction.
Main Attractions to See
Yuezhao Lake 月沼湖
Chinese pinyin:yuè zhào hú, the local villagers there call it yue tan as well. Yue in Chinese means the moon, the reason it got such a name is her moon like shape. Built in yongle age of the Ming dynasty(1403-1424) most movies related to Hongcun, there scene mostly got from here, it could be the most iconic place to Hongcun for people to notice it .The best time to visit yue tan is in the morning. There are also numerous scenes in films showing this yue tan at dusk ,when the sun casting a mysteries shine on this lake and the red lantern are hanging up all around the lake of those villagers house.
Cost: Included in the ticket of the Hongcun ancient town.
Time Needed: 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Nanhu Lake 南湖
Chinese pinyin:nán hú, it is located in south gate of Hongcun village. It is an artificial lake originally built in 1607 during Ming Dynasty and in imitation of West Lake. It s because years after the population developing since the Hongcun has been built, the Yue Tan could meet the water need for those people in the old time, so they created another lake to for water supply. The lake is shaped like a big bow. The lake embankment has two layers. There are old willow trees surrounding around the lake. And in summer, there are water lily blooming in the lake, quite beautiful. The Hua bridge on the Nanhu lake is exactly where the “Li Mubai walk along with his horse in the movie couching tiger and hiding dragon.
Cost: Included in the ticket of the Hongcun ancient town.
Time Needed: 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Nanhu Academy 南湖书院
Chinese pinyin:nán hú shū yuàn.Nanhu Academy is a traditional Hui style academy hall which was built up in 1814 with a history of over 200 years. It was used to be where the students got education in the past in Hongcun. Nanhu Academy was consisted by six parts which is well-connected to one another, each one has an especially function, such as someone is for the master to delivering knowledge, someone is for placing the status of the Confucius for people to admire and someone is for the students to rehearse their books… Facing a clean green pond and having a white colored dormitory standing behind , Nanhu Academy does produce a nice view both inside and from a distance.
Cost: Included in the ticket of the Hongcun ancient town.
Time Needed:30 minutes to 1 hour.
Deyitang Hall 德义堂
Chinese pinyin:dé yì táng. Deyitang Hall is a traditional classical courtyard residence in Hui style. It was built in 1815 in Qing Dynasty. There is a pool in the middle of the house. And around the pool, there is potted landscape. Two courtyards are sited in the east and west sides of the residence.
Cost: Included in the ticket of the Hongcun ancient town.
Time Needed: 30 minutes.
Ancestral Hall of the Wang’s 汪氏宗祠
Chinese pinyin:wāng shì zōng cí. Ancestral Hall of the Wang’s was originally built in Ming Dynasty. It is also called le xu tang. The whole building was in convex shape. There are carvings in the wooden pillars in the hall. This place is used to make offerings to ancestors in big festivals. One of the eights best views in Hongcun.
Cost: Included in the ticket of the Hongcun ancient town.
Time Needed: 30 minutes.
Chengzhi Hall 承志堂
Chinese pinyin: chéng zhì táng. Chengzhi hall is the most well-preserved building in the Yi County, been built in 1855 Chengzhi hall has a history of over 150 years. It was once a mansion of the rich salt merchant man Wang Dinggui in Hongcun in the late Qing dynasty. The whole mansion was built in wooden material and structure and the inner side decorations were made by delicate sculptures both on stone and wood. The master pieces of those sculptures are one of the many reasons that attracting many tourists coming here to admire the delicacy work.
Cost: Included in the ticket of the Hongcun ancient town.
Time Needed: 30 minutes
Mu Keng Zhuhai 木坑竹海
Chinese pinyin: mù kēng zhú hǎi. It’s in the east to the Hongcun also a part of movie couching tiger and hiding dragon. Acres of green bamboo have attracted many photographers and painters here to get them inspired. People who go there do enjoy the acres of good quality air and mind been freshed. Of course there are family running restaurant selling local fresh food which growing in the bamboo forests, of which the must try one is the bamboo shoots collected freshly from the forests.
Transportation: The bamboo forest is east to Hongcun. Currently, there is no bus between those two places. Anyone who wants to get there, could get a three wheel, which is both economy and efficiency .It will normally cost a few kuais and 20 minutes. If you prefer to walk it will cost you about one hour’s time. Cycling there is not recommended, because there is one part of the journey has to go through a dark tunnel which is not so safe for any cyclists.
Cost: 30 Yuan per person for ticket ; inner side cable car 40 Yuan per person.
Time Needed: 2-3 hours.
Opening Time：7:30 a.m.-17:30 p.m.
Travel Guide
Chinese Name: 宏村,pronunciation in Chinese pinyin: “hòng cūn”.
Recommended Time to Visit: Half day
Ticket Cost: 104 Yuan (This price is date up to July 17th,2017)
Transportation: How to get to Hongcun? It enjoys very convenient transport. If you depart from Tunxi of Huangshan, you can take direct bus (written 屯溪-黟县-宏村in Chinese) to get there.
From Huangshan Tunxi to Hongcun (黄山客运总站——宏村): Tunxi bus station is near the downtown of the Huangshan city. You can take a taxi to the Tunxi bus station which is a short trip and will just cost ten Yuan to get there. Then get on the bus heading to Hongcun which will take you right to the front gate of Hongcun village tourist site. There is normally a writing sign saying屯溪-黟县-宏村(Tunxi-Yixian-Hongcun) in front the bus.Time table is listed below for your reference.
| Price | Duration | Departure Time | Station Name | Chinese Name | |
| 24 Yuan | 1 hour | 8:00 9:00 9:30 10:00 11:00 12:00 am | Huangshan Bus Transportation Center | 黄山客运总站 | |
| 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 pm | Hongcun Station | 宏村站 | |||
Price & Duration: The ticket price is 24 Yuan per person and the journey will take approximately one hour.
Bus Size: middle-sized bus, which will have 10-19 seats in it according to the transportation regulations of People’s Republic of China.
From Hongcun to Tangkou Bus Station Huangshan(宏村——黄山汤口): There are middle-sized buses running between Hongcun to Tangkou every day. The ticket price is 20 Yuan per person and will take approximately one hour to get there.Time table is listed below for your reference.
| Price | Duration | Departure Time | Station Name | Chinese Name | |
| 20 Yuan | 1 hour | 6:50 7:50 8:50 9:50 10:50 11:50 am | Hongcun bus station | 宏村站 | |
| 12:50 13:50 15:10 16:30 pm | Huangshan Tangkou stop | 黄山汤口 | |||
In any chance if you miss the bus, no worries , there are always a few private car drivers or taxis waiting at the gate of the Hongcun site providing car service for tourists heading Huangshan. The price also could be bargained down to 20 Yuan per person if you find someone to spit the bill.
From Hongcun to Wuyuan(宏村——婺源): There are buses and high-speed trains between Wuyuan and Huangshan city. For bus you could take at the Huangshan bus station centre (黄山客运总站) in Huangshan city to Wuyuan county. The bus starts at 8:30 every morning and the cost will be 45 Yuan. For anyone planning going to Hongcun from Wuyuan, you could get a bus as well, while the bus stars at 6:40 and the cost will be 21 Yuan. Below is the time table of the bus for your reference.
| Price | Duration | Departure Time | From——To | Chinese Name | |
| 45 Yuan | 1 hour | 8:30 am | Huangshan Bus Station Centre——Wuyuan | 黄山客运总站——婺源 | |
| 21 Yuan | 6:40 am | Hongcun——Wuyuan | 宏村——婺源 | ||
For High-speed train, you can take the high speed train at Wuyuan and get off at the Huangshan north station and then get a bus from Huangshan to Hongcun. The train will only take 23 minutes and the cost will be 35 Yuan. Below is the time table of the high speed train for your reference.
| Price | Duration | Station | Departure time | |
| First seat | 35 | 21 minutes | Huangshan North | 8:11 9:20 9:53 10:22 11:00 11:26 11:55 12:21 13:50
15:35 16:03 16:20 16:38 17:16 18:22 18:57 19:08 |
| Second seat | 59 | Wuyuan | ||
You could also get a high speed train from Wuyuan to Shexian歙县 county station. She Xian county is closer to Hongcun than Huangshan city but the high speed train which stops there is not much compared to those heading to Huangshan north station. The high speed train from Wuyuan to Shexian will take 34 minutes and the cost will be 43 Yuan for a second class seat.
Accommodation in Hongcun: The accommodations in Hongcun are quite convenient. Given that Hongcun is attractive to both Chinese and overseas tourists for a long time, the accommodations there are quite capable to host tourists. Most of them are decorated similar to the hui style and mingle with the Hongcun village quite well. There are hostels and hotels price ranges from 100 Yuan to 500 Yuan. Generally they are clean peace but if you are going to travel there during summer time, mosquito spray is advised to pack into your suitcase.