Furong Village

Furong Village

Located on the western bank of the middle reaches of the Nanxi River, about 1 kilometer north of Yantou Village. During the Taiping Xingguo era of the Song Dynasty, the founding ancestor Chen Gong migrated from Changqiao in Rui’an and settled here, gradually forming a clan-based village. It has a history of over 1,000 years. The village is named after three towering cliffs to its southwest, whose red and white hues blend together, resembling a lotus flower. The village covers an area of 215 mu and currently has 443 households. It preserves more than 30 ancient Ming and Qing residences, five sites of large Ming-era mansions, and a total of 18 ancestral halls. Furong Village is a single-surname village, with all residents sharing the surname Chen. Today, the village still retains the settlement layout from over 600 years ago. The entire village is roughly square-shaped, facing east with its back to the west. The surrounding wall, built from cobblestones, stretches over 2,000 meters in length and is 2 meters high, making the whole village look like a small fortress.

Starting from Yongjia County in Zhejiang Province and not far out of the county town, you can see peculiar cliffs in the distance, resembling blooming lotus flowers — among them, three peaks stand tightly together like the petals of a lotus, so alike in shape that even those who have never heard of the “Three Furong Cliffs” cannot help but be captivated by their uniqueness, thinking they’ve arrived at “Furong Village.”

In fact, along the Nanxi River area, many villages benefit from the scenery of the Three Furong Cliffs: Xiayuan Village, Furong Village, Yantou Village, Xinan Village, and others. These villages all incorporate the view of the cliffs into their landscape — for instance, Furong Village’s Furong Pool offers a “water-reflected furong” view, while Yantou Village’s Lishui Lake showcases a “water-reflected three cliffs” scene.

The Three Furong Cliffs lie to the southwest of Furong Village. At sunrise each morning, when the sun rises behind the mountains, the rosy glow of dawn reflects off Furong Peak, presenting a pinkish-white hue. Not only does it resemble a lotus in shape, but also in color. There is a large pond in the village called “Furong Pool,” which reflects the peak every evening — this is how the village got its name, “Furong Village.”

The eastern gate of Furong Village serves as the main entrance to the village and really does resemble the gate of a park. Judging from the design of this gate, the village was originally built as a closed settlement — once the gate was shut, there would be no exit in this direction. Of course, the village has more than just this one gate; there are several others. Historically, for defensive purposes, Furong Village had seven fortified gates in total, with the eastern gate serving as the primary entrance. Don’t underestimate this gate — it’s also quite “old-school.” It was built in the first year of the Zhizheng era of the Yuan Dynasty (1341 AD), featuring a two-story pavilion-style structure with a hip-and-gable roof. The upper level is a watchtower, and the lower level is the main gate. With the main gate closed, you can imagine how strong its defensive capabilities were back then.

Furong Village: Located on the western side of the Yongxian Highway, south of Yantou Town. Legend has it that to the southwest of the village there stands a tall mountain, with three prominent peaks rising sharply, their colors white with a tinge of red, shaped like an unopened lotus bud — hence the name Furong Peak. There is also a large pond in the village where, every evening, the reflection of Furong Peak can be seen in the water, from which the village derives its name.

According to the “Genealogy of the Chen Clan” (from the 10th year of the Hongzhi era of the Ming Dynasty, 1497): “At the end of the Tang Dynasty, to escape the chaos of war, a couple surnamed Chen migrated from the north of Yongjia County Town, traveling along the Nanxi River toward a secluded mountain valley. Upon reaching the foot of Furong Peak, they found that the area in front was flanked by a meandering river like a silk sash, while behind it lay a rocky peak resembling a gauze hat. The landscape formed a pattern of ‘three dragons vying for a pearl’ and ‘four waters converging into a pool.’ Thus, they built a home and settled down. … More detailed information on Furong Village ++