Yuanzhou Ancient Village

Yuanzhou Ancient Village

Yuanzhou Village is located by the Ligang Stream in Siqian Town and gradually formed after the Luo Yang Wu clan migrated to Yuanzhou. There are currently four well-preserved ancient dwellings and one ancestral hall, all of relatively high architectural quality.

Dwellings: The four existing dwellings in Yuanzhou are named Yangtou Cuo, Laocuo, Disanfen, and Waicuo. These four residences share a very similar overall architectural style, all being courtyard-style with double gateways. A notable feature of Yuanzhou Ancient Village is the prevalence of colorful paintings inside the residences—vivid and exquisitely detailed. The main gates of dwellings such as Yangtou Cuo also feature finely carved yin-yang patterns. The Wu Clan Ancestral Hall is built to the right of Yangtou Cuo and is not very large, consisting of only two courtyards.

The first gateway is positioned at the left front of the courtyard, offset from the circular gateway, which causes the connecting courtyard wall to function as a screen wall for the first gateway, blocking the line of sight. The second gateway, however, is unique, constructed entirely of wood. This wooden gateway is a single-bay structure with a hanging hip roof, featuring deep overhanging eaves adorned with upturned brackets at the outer edge. In front of the eave columns are drum stones. The eave columns support multiple layers of bracket sets that project outward, bearing the beams above. The ends of the brackets are intricately carved with dragon heads and tails, with the dragons’ mouths holding pearls. The dragon motifs, carved in fine detail, lend an air of solemn majesty to this otherwise delicate gateway.

The main house and wing rooms may share a large courtyard, or the courtyard may be divided into three sections by internal walls, as seen in Laocuo. On either side of Laocuo’s wing rooms, there are courtyard walls with latticed windows, with doors at the outer edges of the walls, allowing the small courtyards in front of the wing rooms to connect with that in front of the main house.

Ancestral Hall: The Wu Clan Ancestral Hall is built to the right of the Huang Clan’s Yangtou Cuo, enclosed within walls. It is not very large, consisting of only two courtyards. The first courtyard houses the gateway, designed in a memorial archway style with a hanging hip roof. It is three bays wide and two bays deep. The second courtyard contains the shrine hall, where a plaque hangs from the beam structure, inscribed with the characters “Luozhong Yilao” (meaning “Elder of Luoyang”). The wooden beam structure of the shrine hall is a hybrid of raised-beam and through-tenon construction, with a total of nine rafters. The construction of the Wu Clan Ancestral Hall is relatively simple.

Environment: Yuanzhou is backed by a mountain, faces a screen hill, with protective hills on both sides. The central area has a clearly defined layout, spacious terrain, and is embraced by a meandering “jade belt stream,” creating an environment that is slightly open in the front yet relatively enclosed overall. This geographical pattern is known as a “Four Spirits Land.”

Transportation

If traveling from Lishui to Taishun, you can directly purchase a ticket from Lishui to Siqian for 38.5 yuan, taking just over three hours.