Sanjiuwu

Sanjiuwu

Sanjiuwu is located in Moganshan Town, Deqing County, Zhejiang Province. In 2008, Shaun Gallagherr, a South African working in Shanghai, came to this summer retreat with friends. During their visit, the foreigner with a keen eye was immediately drawn to Sanjiuwu Village. So he and his friends rented six adobe houses in the village and, after some simple renovations, began attracting foreigners to spend weekends there.

Nowadays, in Sanjiuwu Village, you can see winding mountain paths shaded by green bamboo everywhere. Along the way, groups of cheerful young foreign men and women are cycling joyfully along forest trails. Climbing to the rooftop of “The Lodge,” opened by Shaun Gallagherr, and looking out over the rolling hills and layered mountains is truly refreshing.

Ms. Zhang, who lives in Sanjiuwu and now works as a translator at “The Lodge,” told us that in the past year alone, Sanjiuwu hosted over 2,000 international visitors, accounting for three-quarters of the total received by Huzhou City. The “Foreign-Style Farmstay” in Sanjiuwu has become the only foreign-oriented rural guesthouse in East China.

Heading from Yucun toward Houwu, turn right to reach the famous Sanjiuwu (the correct name is actually Shanjiuwu, but it may have been mispronounced due to local accents).

As the car entered the moist air of Moganshan Town, the window alternately showed a calm reservoir shrouded in light mist and smoke, and then swaying groves of tall bamboo, like a sea of green. After several twists and turns, the car finally stopped at a junction.

At the junction, there were two humorous road signs made by stringing bamboo hoops into the Arabic numerals “395.” Among the grass by the roadside, there were also several uniquely shaped trash bins woven from bamboo strips, stuck upside down in the ground like trumpets. A local official told us that this is where the “Foreign-Style Farmstay” is located, and these locally sourced trash bins as well as the playful road signs were personally designed by Shaun Gallagherr.

It really is a quiet and remote village. Standing at the junction, with a gentle breeze blowing, you can only hear the murmuring stream, and in sight there is only one small building, with the rest hidden among the mountain bends and bamboo forests. It is said that in the past, “there were few people, only three households and nine people,” which is how the name “Sanjiuwu” came about. Even today, Sanjiuwu has only 18 households in total. When the South African young man Shaun Gallagherr first came here by bicycle, there were only about twenty elderly residents left in the village. Most of the young people had gone out to do business or work in the city, leaving many old-style adobe houses and Western-style buildings empty and unoccupied.

According to local officials, three years ago, the South African young man Shaun Gallagherr came to Shanghai to work in media and was the initiator of the “naked” (naked) concept, describing himself as “suffocated by the city and starting to search for pure nature nearby.” One day, Shaun searched online for Moganshan, a summer retreat, and learned many legendary stories about the mountain from Mark’s “LODGE” homepage. Naturally curious, Shaun invited a few friends from Shanghai the next day, hopped on mountain bikes, and came to Moganshan. While exploring around, they accidentally discovered Sanjiuwu.

The lush greenery of Sanjiuwu was very similar to the environment of Shaun’s hometown. As soon as he entered the village, he felt a sense of familiarity and warmth, especially those authentic adobe houses, which reminded him of the scent of soil back home. Learning that most of these adobe houses were sitting idle, Shaun and his friends didn’t hesitate to rent six old adobe houses for a full 15 years.

“Originally, we just planned to come here for holidays with friends. But later we realized that running it as a farmstay would be very marketable, because the natural scenery, fresh air, and peaceful surroundings are extremely appealing to foreigners and high-end white-collar workers from the busy metropolis of Shanghai.”

Foreigners running a “Foreign-Style Farmstay” naturally received strong support from the local government. And the environmentally friendly vibe permeating every aspect makes this “Foreign-Style Farmstay” stand out even more.

The rented farmhouses were renovated into cozy guest cottages, each given a lovely name: Ziling Residence, Bamboo Studio, and Bamboo Cottage. From the outside, these houses give off a feeling of stepping back into the era of rural communes.

Nowadays, many foreigners living in Shanghai come to Sanjiuwu for the weekend. Sanjiuwu is like a paradise on earth, and its charming allure has attracted more and more travelers who enjoy the rural life.