Xinghua Village Scenic Area

Xinghua Village Scenic Area

Xinghua Village Scenic Area is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction and a national water conservancy scenic area.

Millennium Xinghua Village

Chizhou, long famed as the “Land of Poets Through the Ages,” has given Xinghua Village lasting renown through poetry, earning it titles such as the “No. 1 Village Under Heaven” and the “No. 1 Poetry Village in the World.”

Millennium Xinghua Village

The Nuan’ge Pavilion and Xinghua Village, located to the west of Chizhou City, are cultural relics that integrate humanistic and natural landscapes, making them the most distinctive historical and cultural village in Chizhou. In ancient times, there were poetic descriptions such as “a stretch of ten miles with crimson-hued smoke villages” and “village wine and flowers sharing tranquil beauty together.” The renowned late Tang Dynasty poet Du Mu, who once served as Prefect of Chizhou, visited Xinghua Village in spring and penned the widely loved poem “Qingming.” “A drizzling rain falls like tears on the Mourning Day; / The mourner’s heart is going to break on his way. / Where can a wineshop be found to drown his sad hours? / A cowherd points to a cot ’mid apricot flowers.” Due to the artistic charm of the poem, the “Records of Xinghua Village,” created solely in honor of this one village, was included in the “Siku Quanshu,” the largest collection of literature in ancient China. However, since the late Qing Dynasty, Xinghua Village has suffered repeated disasters and has long since lost its original appearance. Rebuilding Xinghua Village has always been a beautiful dream of the people of Chizhou and a shared aspiration of successive local officials.

In 1999, Mr. Zhan Xiaorong, a Chinese expatriate and Chairman of the European Chinese Culture Development Group, was attracted by the profound historical and cultural heritage and favorable investment environment of Chizhou. He was determined to rebuild Xinghua Village to restore its original appearance. The first phase of the project, with an investment of 50 million RMB, reconstructed the Xinghua Village Memorial Archway, the ancient well site and adjacent antique-style buildings, and Huanggong Wine Shop. These were completed on July 1, 2001. With a total construction area of 1,700 square meters, the site not only features the architectural styles of southern Anhui and the late Tang Dynasty but also strives to recreate the customs and atmosphere of the Tang era. Through the wine shop, it revives the food culture, wine culture, and poetic culture of Xinghua Village from the Tang Dynasty.

Visitors to the site today can savor the thousand-year-old Huanggong Wine and recite poems about Xinghua Village together. The reconstruction of Xinghua Village is progressing step by step, and the overall plan has been approved by the Chizhou Municipal People’s Government. Construction of the Ancient Well Park and Cultural Park has commenced in full. Soon-to-be-reconstructed attractions include the Iron Buddha Temple, West Temple, Ancient Winery, Tang Village, and Poetry Stele Forest. The ancient Xinghua Village will shine even more brilliantly in the hearts of people around the world.

In the past, Xinghua Village boasted hundreds of acres of apricot blossoms, vibrant as clouds, and was also home to Huanggong Wine Shop, a quiet and elegant place filled with the rich aroma of wine. When Du Mu, then Prefect of Chizhou, visited the area, he left behind the timeless verse: “A drizzling rain falls like tears on the Mourning Day; / The mourner’s heart is going to break on his way. / Where can a wineshop be found to drown his sad hours? / A cowherd points to a cot ’mid apricot flowers.” Since then, Xinghua Village in Chizhou has become a village of eternal fame. The “Chizhou Prefecture Records” describe Xinghua Village as: “Formerly home to Huanggong Wine Shop, later abandoned. The remaining well rim lies within farmland, inscribed with the words ‘Huanggong Guangrun Spring.’” During the Tianqi era of the Ming Dynasty and the Kangxi and Yongzheng eras of the Qing Dynasty, pavilions, archways, and ancestral halls were successively built here. The fame of Xinghua Village wine has endured through the ages. The ancient well still exists, with clear and sweet water, commonly described as “fragrant spring water like wine, inexhaustible no matter how much you draw.”

Xinghua Village has a fragrant spring well. The “Guichi County Annals” state: “The fragrant spring water is like wine, inexhaustible no matter how much you draw.” The ancient well of Xinghua Village has been designated as a key cultural relic under protection by the People’s Government of Anhui Province.

Xinghua Village in Chizhou once had twelve scenic spots: Pingtian Spring Tide, White Pu Lotus Breeze, West Wing Misty Rain, Tea and Wheat Waves, Santai Sunset Glow, Qiyun Pine Moon, Huanggong Wine Shop, Iron Buddha Forest, Zhao Ming Academy, Duwu Fishing Song, Sangzhe Maple Red, and Meizhou Morning Snow—each step revealing a new view, captivating all who visit.

Xinghua Village in Chizhou was listed as one of the first provincial-level scenic areas in Anhui Province in 1987. The Xinghua Village Ancient Well Cultural Park is located one kilometer west of Chizhou City in Anhui Province, with convenient transportation. It is a newly developed tourist attraction built upon the site of the ancient well of Xinghua Village.

Visitors can explore famous attractions such as the Six Dynasties Corridor, Huaigu Pavilion, Lang Sui’s Former Residence, Fish Dragon Bridge, Ancient Theater Stage, Qinglian Hall, Folk Village, Fishing Song Wharf, Wanghua Pavilion, Zhao Ming Hall, Drunken Immortal Lake, and Kuigarden. Here, they can experience the unique poetic and wine culture of the millennium poetry village, engage with farming culture and ancient crafts, enjoy performances of Huangmei Opera and martial arts, challenge their wits and courage in the Eight Trigrams Maze, be neighbors with water buffalo, taste hand-brewed Huanggong Wine for free, and learn about the traditional brewing process.

The Xinghua Village Cultural Tourism Area is built around the QiuPu River, levees, sluice gates, Hedong lakes and ponds, and soil and water conservation projects, forming an urban river-lake type water conservancy scenic area. The planned area of the scenic zone spans 35 square kilometers (including 13.76 square kilometers of water area), and it lies within the core landscape belt of the 55-square-kilometer Xinghua Village Cultural Tourism Resort. The overall layout of the scenic area follows a “two-belts, three-zones” plan: the QiuPu River pristine wetland leisure belt, the Ten-Li Apricot Blossom Stream recreation belt, and the Xinghua Lianhu Water Leisure and Village Charm Experience Zone, the Gutan Lake pastoral sightseeing and farming experience zone, and the Tiansheng Lake landscape resort and eco-wellness zone.

Extended Reading:

· Top 100 Historical Site-Type Scenic Spots Brand List of 2020