Xidi

Xidi (西递村), the treasure of ancient dwelling architectural art, the witness of ancient civilization of human beings, one of the most representative ancient folk house scenic spots in the southern part of Anhui Province, is located in Yixian County.

Xidi

Xidi has retained almost 200 ancient folk houses till today, and these houses vividly display the basic appearances and characters of the villages during Ming and Qing Dynasties. There are many ancient memorial arches at Xidi, the most famous one must be the Hu Wenguang Memorial Arch (胡文光牌坊) with a history over 400 years, possesses three doors, four pillars and five layers, carved by marble, and decorated with openwork carving and round-sculpture. It’s absolutely an outstanding representative of the Anhui-style carving building.

The Hu Wenguang Memorial Arch

The street pattern of Xidi is dominated by a main road which runs in an east-west direction and is flanked by two parallel streets. Major streets are joint by many narrow alleyways. Small open spaces are confined to areas immediately in front of the main public buildings, such as the “Hall of Respect”, the “Hall of Reminiscence”, and the “Memorial Archway of the Governor”.

No wonder Xidi was judged by the UNESCO as “World Cultural Heritage”, a visit here is thoroughly recommended.