Visit the ancient village in western Beijing-Cuandixia Village

Among all the ancient villages in western Beijing, the most famous one is Cuandixia. Chuandixia Ancient Village is a well-preserved ancient residential building complex of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Cuandixia Village cleverly blends traditional courtyards with rugged mountains, demonstrating its unique historical and cultural value. Although it has gone through hundreds of years of great changes, Cuanchuan Dixia Village still maintains the original style of its residences. The mountain courtyards, historical relics, local culture, natural and cultural landscapes of Cuandixia Ancient Village can be regarded as a model of the architectural history of mountain villages and rural social culture in Ming and Qing Dynasties in my country.

Cuandixia Village, an ancient village in the Ming and Qing Dynasties in western Beijing, is 90 kilometers west of Beijing. It is an administrative village in Zhaitang Town, Mentougou District, Beijing, and is a municipal cultural relic protection unit in Beijing. Cuandixia Ancient Village was excavated in 1984. In April 2001, it was designated as a key cultural relic protection unit in Beijing. In September 2003, it was listed as the second batch of historical and cultural protection areas in Beijing. In December 2003, it was approved and announced by the Ministry of Construction. Listed as one of the "first batch of historical and cultural villages in China".

Cuandixia Village is famous for being the most complete and uniquely valuable mountain courtyard building complex in northern my country. Cuandixia Village is located on the ancient post road in the west of Beijing and was built in the Ming Dynasty. The village as a whole faces north and south and is built on the mountain. The overall layout of the village is in the shape of a "yuanbao", which means "gold and silver" to gather wealth. At present, there are more than 70 well-preserved courtyard houses and more than 500 houses in Cuandixia Village. Most of the buildings are brick structures. The building structure is rigorous, well-proportioned, overall sophisticated, rationally laid out, and beautifully decorated.

There are many legends about the origin of the name of Cuandixia Village. It is said that Cuandixia Village was named "Cuandixia Village" because it was located under the dangerous pass canyon of "Cuuli Ankou", a military pass in the Ming Dynasty. It is also said that the residents of this village are all descendants of immigrants with the surname "Han" from Shanxi in the early Ming Dynasty, because Han and Han have the same pronunciation. Coldness is a state of poverty.

In order to make the family prosperous and prosperous, the ancestors of Han named the village "Cuandixia" because the big cliff behind the village looked like a big stove. In order to make the character "Cuan", which is difficult to write and recognize, be known and understood by others, the villagers also made up a jingle: "The beginning of the character "Xing", the character "林" for the waist, and the lower part of the big character is "fire". It means "the fire burns two trees, and the surname Han (Han) also prospers". Some people also think that the meaning of the name is that "Cuan" is used as the "stove" for cooking. The ancient village chose "Cuan" to symbolize family unity, and "Zao" symbolizes "warmth", which is similar to the "cold" in the surname "Han". The sounds correspond to each other, symbolizing the village's protection from the cold and keeping "warm" in various ways, reflecting the cultural taste and pursuit of the villagers. When the place names were simplified in 1958, people changed "Cuan" to "Chuan", and "Chuandixia Village" was born, which is still in use today. In recent years, in order to revitalize rural tourism, "Cuan" has become popular again.

From Beijing, drive west along National Highway 109 for more than 90 kilometers to reach Cuandixia Village, an ancient village in Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing. In February in Beijing, a heavy snow had just fallen, and the valleys, streams, woods, fields and villages in western Beijing were covered with white snow. Surrounded by mountains, Cuandixia Village after snow presents a deep, clear, simple and peaceful scenery, full of unique charm and sentiment.

In the valley beside the imperial city, this famous ancient village of the Ming and Qing Dynasties is located. The ancient dwellings built against the mountains retain their ancient charm. The roof was originally blue-gray, and connected with the green pine trees behind it. As the snow fell, the green-gray tile eaves of every house's roof were dotted with crystal white snow. Clusters of green-edged and white-ground color blocks make up the entire village.

Cuandixia Village is located on the gentle slope on the north side of the Jingxi Canyon. It is built against the mountain. It is one of the most complete ancient building complexes in mountain villages in my country. The ancient residence faces north and south as a whole and is a courtyard house from the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The overall layout of the courtyard-style residences in Cuandixia Village is adapted to local conditions and built along the mountain, forming a building group pattern with quadrangle courtyards as the mainstay and triple courtyards as the supplement. . A winding street divides the village into upper and lower parts.

Village houses are built on different terraces along the mountain, with layers upon layers and row upon row. The village is divided into upper and lower floors. It looks like an ancient castle and a mountain city. It is staggered at different levels, with reasonable layout, clever use of space, rigorous structure, and extremely high architectural art. The unique houses have gray tile cornices, high courtyard walls, strict gate tower levels, exquisitely carved door piers, unique brick carvings and screen walls, and murals and couplets can be seen everywhere.

The overall architecture of Cuandixia Village is harmonious and elegant, and the brick carvings, stone carvings, and wood carvings contain ancient national culture. The alleys paved with stone slabs in the village are elegant and quiet. There are also Guandi Temple (also known as the Big Temple), Niangniang Temple and Wudao Temple in the village. The architecture in Cuandixia Village is simple, elegant and full of interest, reflecting the ultimate in the traditional architectural style of Ming and Qing dynasties.

Cuandixia Village is surrounded by mountains, with an altitude of 650 meters. It belongs to the Taihang Mountains and the Qingshui River Basin. The climate is temperate monsoon climate. The natural vegetation is good, with pines, cypresses, and green trees, giving it a "paradise" feel. There are rich natural and cultural landscapes around Cuandixia Village, such as Yixiantian, Crouching Tiger Mountain, Bijia Mountain, Golden Toad Watching the Moon, Bats Offering Blessings, Shenju Hoof Nest, Nine Hundred and Nine Stone Array, and the ruins of the West Beijing Ancient Road, etc., which are so beautiful. .

Cuandixia Village was built in the Ming Dynasty and gradually prospered in the Qing Dynasty. Passing business travelers settled in this small village on the ancient road that they must pass through. The bustling passing merchants made it a distribution center for goods. During the Kangxi and Qianlong periods, many shops emerged in Cuandixia Village, such as Ruifu Tang, Ruiqing Tang, Sanyi Tang, Baoquan Xing, etc.

In the alleys paved with stone slabs in the village, the green and purple stone slabs have become crystal clear and colorful with the polishing of the years. The small streets are winding and undulating, elegant and quiet, and the green and purple stones take the meaning of "pacifying the blue clouds" and "purple energy coming from the east". The gatehouses of residential houses are generally Ruyi gates with hard tops and clear water ridges. The gates are located between the outer eaves and pillars. The two sides of the door frame are made of polished bricks with joints. The upper ceiling outside the door is painted with patterns. The door lintel is decorated with door hairpins. There is a delicate water-milled brick wall pattern between the outside and the inside of the wall. In addition, many houses have cellars under them and flower walls above them. The courtyard architecture integrates brick carvings, stone carvings, and wood carvings, with different shapes and outstanding styles, such as: family happiness, magpies climbing branches, hoping for success, good luck, etc. The wall leg stones and door pier stones are exquisitely carved and have various patterns. Most of them are mainly flowers, birds and animals that symbolize auspiciousness, such as magpies, bats, peonies, lotus, lotus, etc.

The unique style of the houses has gray tile cornices, high courtyard walls, strict gate tower levels, exquisitely carved door piers, unique brick carvings and screen walls, and murals and couplets can be seen everywhere. The entire village has criss-crossed alleys, and the houses are stacked on top of each other. Often when we pass through an alley, there is a new world, and walking through it feels like we are in a maze. A winding street divides the village into upper and lower parts. The courtyards that can be called the typical ancient residences in Cuandixia Village are Guangliang Courtyard, Shuangdian Courtyard and Shiyongju. In 1998, the Mentougou District Government announced Guangliangyuan, Shuangdianyuan and Shiyongju as the fourth batch of cultural relics protection units.

Cuandixia Village has a rich local culture. The villagers’ cultural and entertainment activities are rich and colorful. The folk culture passed down from generation to generation continues to this day, such as visiting the temple on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, playing with Chinese flags, swinging on swings, and singing and dancing. Jump opera, folk rap, etc. The rich and colorful folk customs, local operas and the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month are also the most festive moments for people in the village. On such days, if you accidentally walk into this village, the rich local culture and cultural landscape will suddenly appear. It draws you in.

The beautiful natural environment, unique style, and unique residential buildings here are definitely not alone. It has long been a natural base for filming TV series and movies, such as "The Thirteenth Sister" and "Kanto University". Dozens of film and television dramas such as "Xia Xia", "Cixi's Journey to the West", "Tai Chi Master", "Silent Love", "Cell Phone" and so on have chosen this place as the filming location. Today, Cuandixia Village is crowded with tourists, including painters, photographers, writers, poets, etc., making it a good place for people to visit the ancient times.

Walking through the lanes, the old houses, stone mills, and ancient locust trees in the village seem to be telling people about its long history. Several generations of villagers here live, farm and enjoy together, leading an idyllic life. The decoration, carvings and paintings of the courtyard also reflect folk customs and traditional culture. The pursuit of happiness, beauty, wealth and auspiciousness is quietly released in it.

Whether it is the mottled old houses and eaves and beams, or the exquisite brick carvings, stone carvings, and wood carvings of ancient residences, even if they are dilapidated and damaged, they still retain the delicacy and style of the past. The ancient houses in the village are well-built, simple and elegant, and the mountainous courtyards have a deep and profound atmosphere, which is extremely beautiful.

Writing and photography by Sun Keqin

References

Sun Keqin, Sun Bo, 2005, One Thousand and One Expressions of Ancient Villages in West Beijing. Beijing Planning and Construction, (6): 128-151.

Sun Keqin, Sun Bo, 2006, ancient village in Zhaitang Town, Beijing. Beijing: People's Fine Arts Publishing House.

Sun Keqin, Song Guanya, and Sun Bo, 2006, visited ancient villages in western Beijing. Beijing: China Pictorial Publishing House.

Sun Keqin, 2007, Interpretation of the cultural heritage of ancient villages in western Beijing. Beijing Planning and Construction, (1): 166-169.

Sun Keqin, 2008, investigation of regional culture of ancient villages in western Beijing. Chinese Local Chronicles, (7): 54-58.

Sun Keqin, 2008, Chuandixia Village, a model of mountain village architecture in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Chinese Houses, (2): 24-27.

Sun Keqin, 2009, Protection and development of ancient village heritage resources in Mentougou District, Beijing. Regional Research and Development, 28(4):72-76.

Sun Keqin, Sun Bo, 2013, visited the most beautiful ancient villages in China. Beijing: Metallurgical Industry Press.