Eighteen Bends of Guzhuang Ancient House

Eighteen Bends of Guzhuang Ancient House

The Eighteen Bends of Guzhuang Ancient House is a cultural heritage site protected by Xiang'an District.

The Eighteen Bends of Guzhuang Ancient House is located in Guzhuang Village, Xinxu Town, Xiang'an District, and is a county-level cultural heritage site dating back to the Song Dynasty.

The Eight Bends Ancient Path is located on the northwest slope of Houbi Mountain behind Guzhuang Village in Xinxu Town. It was renovated and widened during the Song Dynasty. The ancient path currently stretches about 800 meters in length and ranges from 0.8 to 2 meters in width. It is paved with irregular stone blocks and pebbles in a sloped formation, with stone steps added at steep sections. The path winds and twists up the mountainside all the way to the summit known as Yunzhong Yan (Wild Geese in the Clouds). It earned the name “Eighteen Bends” because there are a total of 18 turns along the route. Originally, beside the Dapu Road in the natural village of Zhaizaiwei of the former Damashan Farm, there stood a stone stele from the first year of the Jingding era of the Song Dynasty (1260), measuring 0.35 meters in height and 0.38 meters in width. The stele bears eight lines of running script carved in intaglio. The inscription reads: “Zheng Xianghua, out of piety and personal contribution, together with Monk Miaojian, donated a sum of one thousand strings of cash to pave and repair this road, covering a distance of over eight hundred zhang, to facilitate the travel of people. Recorded in the first year of Jingding.” It documents how Zheng Xianghua and Monk Miaojian jointly funded the repair of over 800 zhang (approximately 2,600 meters) of road to make travel easier for passersby. In 1993, the stele was collected by the Tong’an Museum and is still preserved today. In July 1984, the Eighteen Bends Ancient Path was designated as a county-level cultural heritage site by the People’s Government of Tong’an County.

Protected area: The first and last 700 meters of the Eighteen Bends Ancient Path, extending 20 meters in all directions.

Guzhuang Village: The Guzhuang administrative village comprises seven natural villages—Guzhuang, Xiapu, Dalu, Houdi, Gongyang, Qinnei, and Hantou—and 14 villager groups. It covers a total land area of 21,802 mu, has 1,000 households, and a population of 3,481. Guzhuang Reservoir is located in the village. In 2008, the village's total economic income was 27.04 million yuan, with a per capita income of 5,838 yuan. The local economy is primarily based on eco-agriculture, with rapid recent development in aquaculture and flower cultivation. “Guzhuang Garlic” has been registered as a trademark and is well-known locally and afar, being exported to Southeast Asia, Japan, and South Korea. The Guzhuang Grand Canyon and the Eighteen Bends of Guzhuang are being developed into eco-tourism destinations... More details about Guzhuang Village ++