Zhongcun Village in Luting

Zhongcun Village in Luting

Zhongcun Village is located in the southeastern part of Luting Township, Yuyao City, Zhejiang Province. The ancient village boasts numerous historical and cultural landmarks, including cultural sites such as Baiyun Bridge, Xiansheng Temple, the Ancient Theater Stage, and the Zhongcun Battle Monument, as well as folk culture resources like dragon dancing, sand boats, and the sedan chair lift.

There are two popular folk explanations for the naming of Zhongcun. One says the village is equidistant from three places—Yuyao, Ningbo, and Fenghua—hence the name "Zhongcun" (Middle Village); the other relates to the balance between the two major local surnames, Gong and Zheng. It is said that the Gong family settled here first, but the Zhengs outnumbered them. When the Gongs wanted to name the village "Gongcun," the Zhengs disagreed, so the two families compromised and named it Zhongcun, symbolizing the idea of moderation.

The "Shitan Gong Family Genealogy" clearly supports the former explanation. According to the genealogy, the Gong family was the first to migrate to this area. During the Tang Dynasty, the Shitan Gong family admired the feng shui of the place and moved here to build Baiyun Village, erecting the Baiyun Wooden Bridge. As this location is at the center of four counties and three towns—45 kilometers from Yin County, Fenghua, Yuyao, and Shangyu, and 20 kilometers from the three towns of Yinjiang, Liangnong, and Lubu—it was named "Zhongcun." Later, the Henan Zheng family migrated here during the Southern Song Dynasty’s Jianyan era.

There is a Baiyun Bridge in Zhongcun. It is a steeply arched single-hole stone bridge, resembling a leaping rainbow—simple yet lively. The ends of the bridge arch are inscribed with couplets. On the west side of the bridge, the upper couplet reads, “Where Yuyao and Yuyao meet, the land of leeks and fields sings of benefits,” and the lower couplet reads, “The village connects the Gong and Zheng families, celebrating peace for a thousand autumns.” The east side also has a couplet: “White water spans the rainbow’s waist, roads connect north and south; the clouded village retains moon shadows, dividing the boundary of Yuyao.” The outer side of the bridge's arch panel is engraved horizontally with the three large characters “Baiyun Bridge,” and the upper right corner bears the inscription “Guangxu Gengyin.” Clearly, the Baiyun Bridge seen today was built in the year “Guangxu Gengyin” (i.e., 1890), serving as the boundary bridge between Yinxian and Yuyao. It is now a Yuyao municipal-level cultural relic protection unit.

The small river beneath Baiyun Bridge is called Xiaolu Stream. Similar to how Luting Township got its name, Xiaolu Stream’s name is related to Kong You, a famous scholar of the Southern Liang Dynasty. Volume one of the "Siming Mountain Records" states: “Kong You lived in seclusion in these mountains… A deer was shot and came to Kong You for help. He treated its wound, which healed, and then the deer left. He thus built a deer pavilion beside the shrine. In the Chen Yongding era, a decree allowed the construction of a temple, which was then converted from the shrine into a temple. Both Fanxie and Luting are in Dalan (now spelled Dalan).” The "Yuyao Guangxu Annals" also record: “Kong You lived in seclusion in these mountains. A wounded deer came to him, and he healed its injury before it left. Thus, he built a deer pavilion beside the Liu-Fan Shrine, naming it Luting, from which the township name is derived.”

The waters of the great stream are formed by the convergence of many tributaries, one of which is Baishui, also known as Zixi. Baishui originates from Baishui Mountain, also called Baishan, located four kilometers south of today’s Liangnong Town. It got its name from a white-robed Taoist priest who practiced here during the Han Dynasty. The mountain features a waterfall, and beside it lies a cave called Chanjuan Cave, where the Eastern Han couple Liu Gang and Fan Yunqiao lived while studying Taoism under the White Taoist. The couple gathered herbs and refined elixirs daily, washing the herbs in Baishui, which dyed the stream purple—hence it is also called Zixi (Purple Stream) or Herb-Washing Stream.

About 50 meters upstream from Baiyun Bridge on the left bank of Xiaolu Stream lies Xiansheng Temple. Xiansheng Temple is the public temple of Zhongcun, dedicated to the “Great King,” as locals call the main deity. No one in the area can clearly say who the “Great King” actually is. The temple is a Daoist structure with a courtyard layout divided into front and rear sections, each featuring five bays. Seated at the center of the main hall is the “Great King.” Based on other widely worshipped “Great King” temples in Zhejiang and local traditions, it is speculated that the “Great King” is likely the “Dongyue Great Emperor.” Flanking the “Great King” are the Four Dragon Kings, who, together with the “Great King,” silently carry the local people’s hopes for favorable weather and abundant harvests. The celebrated Ancient Theater Stage of Xiansheng Temple, acclaimed as “the earliest, structurally superior, and most exquisitely built in Ningbo,” stands in the center of the courtyard, featuring a hip-and-gable roof and connecting to the central bay of the front hall. Three viewing rooms flank the stage on either side. The stone pillars at the front of the stage are inscribed with couplets—the upper reads, “Drums rattle, dancers sway, for a thousand autumns singing praises of the sage’s virtue,” and the lower reads, “Crowds come and go, all blessed by the divine grace.”

Spring is the most beloved season in Zhongcun, like the last delicious bite you’re reluctant to take from a table full of dishes. If you visit in spring, be sure to walk onto the bridge. Lean against it and watch the reviving earth, grasses sprouting with vigor, flowers blooming in competition, and fish bidding farewell to winter. The sounds of Yue opera drift softly through the air. Nature has painted a beautiful scene, perfectly blending movement and stillness, sight and sound, humans and nature. In your leisure time, bring your family and friends, wade through the Xiaolu Stream, stroll along the ancient alleys laid out in five horizontal and nine vertical paths, admire the black-tiled, gray-walled houses, and witness the flow of millennia-old charm—cleansing the clutter from your heart.

By Car:

There are two viable routes from downtown Ningbo to Zhongcun Village, Luting Township, Yuyao City:

1. Travel from western Yinzhou via Wangtong Highway, pass through Dalicun Village, and reach Zhongcun, crossing a mountain along the way;

2. Travel from western Yinzhou via Zhangcun Village, pass by Miyan Village, follow the eastern shore of Jiaokou Reservoir northward to Zhongcun.