Zhaji Village

Zhaji Village

Zhaji Village is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction.

Nestled among the mountains in the northern part of the Huangshan Mountain Range and on the northern shore of Taihu Lake lies a surprisingly ancient village—Zhaji. Here, “Zha” is pronounced “zha,” not “cha.” Most of the villagers share the surname Zha. There are small bridges, murmuring streams, rows of ancient dwellings, solemn ancestral halls, towering pagodas, elegant pavilions, ancient trees full of vitality, and leisurely, carefree villagers. This ancient village, exuding an air of simplicity and elegance, instantly captures the heart with its unique charm. In scale, it ranks first in southern Anhui and is also one of the largest surviving clusters of ancient dwellings in China. Its dilapidated yet nostalgic beauty offers a glimpse into the glorious history of China’s rural past.

Zhaji is an ancient village in Jing County with a Ming and Qing architectural style. Located at the junction of Jing, Taihu, and Qingyang counties, it sits 60 kilometers southwest of Jing County’s county town. Surrounded by mountains, Zhaji Village is enclosed by four gates (Zhongxiu Gate, Pingling Gate, Bashan Gate, and Shimen Gate) and two pagodas (Qingshan Pagoda and Rusong Pagoda). Three waterways—the Cen River, Xu River, and Shi River—converge and flow through the village, spanned by numerous flat, arched, and vaulted bridges. There are over 100 ancient dwellings from the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. Originally, Zhaji Village had 108 bridges, 100 ancestral halls, and 108 temples. Today, more than 140 ancient structures remain, including over 40 bridges, 30 ancestral halls, and 4 temples. The “De Gong Ting Wu,” built during the Yuan Dynasty and located in Shui Lang Lane in the village center, features a three-tiered gatehouse with a relatively low front eave. The eave pillars are made of thick, stout, and round nanmu wood, with simple, uncarved plinths. The “Yong Qing Tang” and “Jin Shi Men” from the Ming Dynasty are exquisitely carved and delicately structured. Zhaji Village is one of the better-preserved ancient architectural complexes.

Nearly all the Ming and Qing buildings feature carved beams and painted rafters, with upturned eaves. Residences such as De Gong Ting Wu, Song Qing Tang, and Ai Ri Tang are particularly grand and tall, with exquisite structures. The De Gong Ting Wu stands out with its four-pillar, three-story, memorial archway-style gatehouse, its roof covered by five dougong brackets slightly upturned in three tiers, presenting an air of primitive simplicity, elegance, and dignity. The back is adorned with openwork carvings of auspicious motifs such as two dragons playing with a pearl, a red phoenix facing the sun, a fish leaping over the dragon gate, and a lion rolling a ball, all rendered with masterful craftsmanship.

The ancient residences are adorned with exquisite carvings on their gateways, wall bases, column plinths, window lattices, and door lintels. Lifelike figures and birds and beasts, as well as refined landscapes and flowers, all carry a distinct literati flair. Particularly impressive are the “Three Carvings” of Huizhou architecture—the proud wooden carvings of upturned eaves, the stone carvings of column plinths, and the grand brick carvings of gate headers, all prominently displayed in the “Er Jia Ci.”

Ancient stone carvings, brick carvings, and wood carvings can be seen everywhere in Zhaji. The wood carvings on window and door panels, the stone carvings on hall column plinths, and the brick carvings on gateways are all intricately and exquisitely crafted, each scene unique—whether flowers and birds, animals, or human figures, all vividly lifelike. The houses have multi-courtyard layouts, often three or four courtyards deep, with “four waters converging to the hall” style courtyards between them. The second-floor corridors along the courtyards feature “beauty’s lean” railings. The walls are built from strip stones, the column bases are round carved stones, the walls are of blue bricks, and the roofs are covered with black tiles. Traditional double-sloped roofs are half-hidden, tucked behind overlapping gables. The gables, rising above the rooftops, serve both to prevent the spread of fire and act as anti-theft measures. The gables come in diverse shapes—cloud-like, bow-shaped, stepped, etc.—with upturned, hollow horse-head designs at their peaks. The exteriors of these ancient dwellings are entirely blue bricks and black tiles—not because the ancient people of Zhaji lacked wealth or aesthetic sense, but because during the Ming and Qing periods, many Zhaji residents were merchants, with no shortage of wealthy traders, and the area had a strong literary culture. Zhaji Village is surrounded by four gates and three pagodas: Zhongxiu Gate, Pingling Gate, Shimen Gate, and Bashan Gate; as well as Rusong Pagoda, Qingshan Pagoda, and Bashan Pagoda. These are simple and elegant. The three pagodas were funded and built by the Zha family during the Qing Dynasty’s Jiaqing era to revitalize the scholarly culture of Zhaji. Zhaji natives Zha Bingjun and Zha Chunru were also renowned painters and calligraphers of the Qing Dynasty.

So why didn’t the people of Zhaji decorate their homes in dazzling colors? It turns out that in feudal China, the use of color was subject to extremely strict hierarchical distinctions. Even if commoners had immense wealth, they were absolutely forbidden from using lavish, resplendent paintings and decorations on their homes. But the clever people of Zhaji cleverly arranged their dwellings, “building houses against the mountains and settling villages by the water.” The distribution of residences skillfully employed classical Chinese garden techniques such as borrowed scenery and framed views, creating a “unity of heaven and humanity” where “the green mountains outside the gate seem within the home, and the flowing water of one household enters that of the neighbor.” The houses are connected by streets and alleys, and the Zhaji River—formed by the convergence of the Cen, Xu, and Shi rivers—meanders through the village, with stone channels running past every household.

To this day, although Zhaji Village has weathered a century of storms and no longer retains its former glory, it still boasts 15 bridges—including Hong Lou, Tian Shen, and Ling Zhi—and over 10 ancestral halls and temples. Among them, the larger structures such as Bao Gong Ci, Hong Gong Ke, and Er Jia Ci still showcase their gilded upturned eaves and carved beams and painted rafters, offering a glimpse into Zhaji Village’s past splendor. With three waterways flowing through the village, three pagodas framing the four gates, stone bridges crossing streams, and ancient building complexes lining both banks, the unique and profound architectural culture, together with the spiritually uplifting landscape, nurtured the people of old Zhaji. Standing before these Ming and Qing ancient buildings, we cannot help but feel a surge of pride in China’s long-standing culture and admire the diligence and wisdom of our ancestors who created this splendid ancient civilization.