Shanzhaibao Ancient Village

Shanzhaibao Ancient Village

Shanzhaibao Village is located in Jinhua City, Zhejiang Province, and is an unassuming historical ancient village. Originally, there were only a few households surnamed Bao living here, hence the name Shanzhaibao (literally "Bao below the mountain"). The village is built along the narrow valley on both sides of the Jinxi River, following the contours of the mountainous terrain. It is surrounded by peaks, with lush forests and well-preserved vegetation.

Strangely enough, although the village is named Shanzhaibao, the vast majority of its residents do not bear the surname Bao but rather Tu. The elders in the village say that there indeed used to be families surnamed Bao living here in ancient times, which is how the village got its name, but over time, more and more families surnamed Tu moved in.

According to the "Shuangxi Tu Family Genealogy" of Shanzhaibao Village, the reason for this lies in the Qing Dynasty during the Yongzheng era, when an ancestor of the Tu family, Tu Guowen, relocated from Changting, Fujian, and fell in love with a local woman from Shanzhaibao Village, eventually joining her family through marriage (becoming an in-law). He cleared land in the mountains every day. In addition to growing corn and sweet potatoes for his family’s consumption, he also planted “indigo,” a plant used for dyeing cloth, and built ten indigo vats with a diameter of 3.5 meters in the village for soaking plants used in making dyes. From then on, families surnamed Tu began residing in Shanzhaibao. Over time, the Tu clan grew larger and became the largest family in the village.

Although Shanzhaibao Village is tucked away deep in the mountains, it is not entirely unknown. As early as 1943, the famed architects Liang Sicheng and Lin Huiyin visited Wuyi County to study the Yanfu Temple in Tao Village and personally went to Shanzhaibao Village. A representative image of residential buildings in the Zhejiang-Jiangxi mountain area was published in Liang Sicheng’s book "A History of Chinese Architecture." The caption for this image read “Residential Buildings in the Mountains of Xuancheng, Wuyi, Zhejiang.” After careful research and comparison by relevant experts, it was confirmed that the buildings in the photo were those of Shanzhaibao Village. The village currently has over 30 ancient structures, most of which are one to two hundred years old. Among them, there are more than 20 ancient residences, as well as ancestral halls, temples, stone bridges, ancient wells, and ruins of indigo vats.

The ancient residences in Shanzhaibao Village are mostly two-story buildings. The ground floor is used for living, while the upper floor serves for storing grain and placing farming tools. These houses mainly come in three architectural styles: three rooms with two side wings, five rooms with two side wings, and five rooms with four side wings, most of which have backyards. The front eaves of the main house and side wings are supported by bracket arms (dougong-style corbels) that form an overhanging corridor. This design not only enhances the visual beauty of the architecture but also shields against direct sunlight and rain—characteristics typical of traditional residential buildings in southern Wuyi County.

Fortunately, the village still retains representative buildings that embody its traditional style and historical-cultural value. These ancient structures, having withstood centuries of wind and rain, stand in their twilight years, silently telling the stories of Shanzhaibao’s history, agricultural life, and human culture. This hidden ancient village, after remaining silent for hundreds of years, is now in urgent need of attention and protection.

One of the traditional cultural activities in Shanzhaibao Village is the Horse Lantern Dance during the Lantern Festival. Nine young boys participate, with two playing horse handlers, two playing “foreign officials,” one boy dressed as Wang Zhaojun (in female attire), and four playing Han palace maidens—all dressed in ancient Han palace costumes. Through a series of dance movements and songs, they depict the story of “Zhaojun Married to the Xiongnu.” The entire performance lasts about two hours.

Transportation

(1) Starting from downtown Jinhua, take National Highway 330 towards Wenzhou and Yongkang. Pass through Shibalizhen and Lingxia Zhu, then reach Qiaodao Village at the border between Jinhua and Wuyi. Turn right and switch to Provincial Highway 44 to reach Wuyi County.

(2) From Wuyi County, follow the signs and drive along Provincial Highway 44 towards Liucheng and Songyang. After passing Liucheng, turn left at Qianwan Village, leave Provincial Highway 44, and head in the direction of Lishui.