What places are worth visiting in Peitian Village, known as the "Folk Forbidden City" of the Hakkas?

Peitian is not a big village. There are more than 100 households and dozens of old houses built on the mountain. Since the houses are all made of wood, there are two canals running through the entire village, because the water , the village seems more and more spiritual. Being embraced by green mountains and having the charm of a Jiangnan water town, this village is very endearing.

At first glance, it is difficult to imagine that this was once an important transportation road. In the old days, there were many fast horses galloping on this post road from Liancheng to Changting. The center of Peitian is called the Ancient Street, which is the widest and liveliest place in the village. It is a gravel-paved path, about three meters wide at the wide end and less than two meters narrow at the narrow end. There are small shops, grocery stores, and tofu shops on both sides. The shop, barber shop, and tavern are all the houses owned by the villagers. The windows facing the street are opened wider, and a white cloth cover is hung outside. The name of the shop is written in large traditional Chinese characters on it, and the business is booming.

It was a sunny day in Peitian during the Spring Festival. It was around ten o'clock in the morning, and the yards with green bricks and black tiles were embraced by the warm sunshine. Occasionally, there was smoke rising from cooking stoves in the silence, and there were villagers carrying burdens. As I walked past, I heard the sound of the wooden door creaking in the wind, and cats and dogs of all sizes and colors came out to greet me.

All the houses in the village have their doors open, the yard is filled with furniture and electrical appliances, and the hall has a large round wooden table and chairs with tea sets on them. Anyone who passes by, whether they are neighbors they know in the village or passers-by who have never met before, will be warmly invited by the host to sit down and drink tea in the yard. If it happens that the host is having a meal at home, then he will bring a pair of chopsticks and a bowl. The guests eat together. Drinking is of course indispensable. Rice wine is served in a large ceramic bowl, and you can’t help but drink it because of the great hospitality.

Passing by Jinshidi, the owners are a couple in their early sixties, two kind-hearted old people. As soon as we walked into the yard, we were amazed at how clean it was. The old man took us to see the inside and outside of the home. . Hearing that I wanted to take pictures of the wood carvings in the house, the uncle quickly moved the clothes in front of the wooden wall to make room for me.

The houses in the village were not built at the same time. It took hundreds of years to look like what they are today. However, the later generations built their houses according to the styles of their ancestors, so the planning of the entire village was quite good and did not look cluttered. The wood carvings, brick carvings and stone carvings were all meticulous and exquisite.

The houses in the whole village face east to west, which is different from the ordinary north-to-south custom. The villagers said that this was determined by their ancestors based on the local wind and climate in order to maintain good ventilation. and lighting, etc. This is another major feature of Peitian residences.

Two criss-crossing canals run through the entire village and flow through every house. Villagers wash clothes, vegetables, faces and hands, and farm tools in them. This water also has another important purpose, which is used for making Firefighting. It turns out that the houses in Peitian are all made of wood and can easily catch fire. The clever people in Peitian diverted water into the houses to solve the problem. Earlier, water canals were introduced into every household, making it easy to use water without leaving home.

Rong Xiju? The place where Peitian girls learned women’s ethics was probably a rare girls’ school at that time. Yanqing Hall, the ancestral hall in the village, where sacrificial activities are held, and a stage is set up in the yard.

Jiugong Temple, the house of the third brother of Peitian’s second generation ancestors. There were two very beautiful girls in that family.

Jinshi, the home of Wu Zhuangyuan, the yard has two pairs of beautiful stone lions, one on the left and one on the right. The female lion is holding a little lion at its feet. It is the cleanest yard in the village. , it’s a pity that there are no vacant rooms, otherwise we would have stayed there for the New Year.

Hoe Ching Villa is a large house located on the edge of an ancient street. It has exquisite brick carvings and couplets.

Jixingtang is the largest house in the village with 108 rooms. It is said that the owner’s daughter-in-law had more than 120 banquets in the yard on her birthday. .

Nanshan Academy is the primary school in the village. It is built on the mountain. There is a lotus pond at the door. The withered flower stems in winter hang on the water, just like a freehand brushwork painting. There is a two-story house next to it. The only hotel in the village? Nanshan Inn.

Xinglong Tofu Fang is about fifty meters away from the entrance of the ancient street. You can see the eye-catching signboard from a distance. The shopkeeper in a black leather skirt is busy in the shop. The firewood is burning in the big stove in the house. The newly ground soy milk is boiling in the large iron pot on the counter. White gauze is spread in several wooden gates on the counter. The cooked soy milk that has begun to solidify is poured into the wooden gates. The white gauze is tied up and pressed tightly. When the time comes, open the gauze and the snow-white tofu will be ready. This is my favorite shop in Peitian Village. I stood there for a long time without leaving. The shop owner was working while watching us take pictures of him and his shop. When we made eye contact, he smiled at me, as if we were familiar with each other. friends.

In addition to tofu, there are two things that you must eat when visiting Peitian, because the villagers say that they are Peitian’s specialties, and those from other places are not authentic. One is a kind of food made of rice. The rice is soaked in water and ground into a slurry. Grass ash and locust bark powder are added to the rice. It is cooked on a high fire and finally condenses into lumps. Peitian people call it rice jelly, which looks a bit like Jelly, jelly made from rice is yellow, but the color varies from house to house, probably related to the amount of alkali added. The method is to cut it into small pieces and fry it in a pan, and it must be accompanied by long green onions, the yellow and green colors complement each other. The second one is fried fruit. The difference is that sweet potato powder is added to the rice noodles, which makes it taste softer and softer. Each family makes it in different sizes and shapes, and the amount of sweet potato powder added is also different. These two are must-have foods for Peitian people during the Chinese New Year.

The prepared rice jelly is usually put in a basin and cut into pieces when you want to eat it. You can take some with you when visiting relatives and friends, and you should also take a piece with you when you go to the temple to burn incense. The fried fruits are crispy when they are freshly cooked. When they are cool, they can be steamed over high heat. Bring a bowl with you when you visit us. You try mine and I eat yours. The fellow villagers feel like they are one family.

The custom of the Peitian people is that no feast can be complete without wine. Rice wine is indispensable at every meal. The warm rice wine is served in a tin pot, and the bowls in front of everyone are full. superior. No matter in the morning or in the evening, whether porridge or rice, drinking is always the first thing. People who can drink well can drink it all in one gulp, and people who can drink within their ability can taste it slowly. There is nothing wrong with it. But the important thing is that each bowl must be full every time you add wine, so the bowls of slow drinkers are always full.

On New Year's Eve one year, a villager drank rice wine until early in the morning. Finally, he fell drunk and passed out. When he woke up, it was already the second day of the Lunar New Year. He rubbed his eyes and looked at the reporter in confusion. The person on his date muttered: "Why is there no New Year's Day this year?" ?We heard this story when we were having New Year's Eve dinner on New Year's Eve. When we were drunk and blushing, an elder told this story. Everyone listened and laughed and raised the wine bowl in their hands more frequently. The rich and sweet flavor of rice wine filled the dining hall, and also filled everyone's hearts with happiness and joy.