Donglong Ancient Village

Donglong Ancient Village

At the junction of Ningdu and Shicheng counties—where the Hakka people first settled and developed—a mountain basin at an altitude of about 500 meters lies nestled amidst peaks. Surrounded by verdant hills and crisscrossed by clear streams, this basin cradles a thousand-year-old village: Donglong Village in Tianbu Township, Ningdu County.

During the Tang Dynasty, this place was called Dongtun. When Hakka ancestors traveled from the east of Ningdu to Fujian, the Dongtun Pass was the shortcut. In the early years of the Qiande era of the Northern Song Dynasty, Li Yijun, who had settled in Banjing, Shicheng, came to Donglong for hunting and was captivated by this blessed land of green hills, so he relocated his entire family here. Due to “a range of mountains to the southeast, winding and undulating, resembling a dragon lying on the ground,” he renamed the place Donglong.

Ingenious Layout Embracing Mountain and Water

Historically, Donglong was one of the wealthiest villages in the region, renowned across Jiangxi as the “Thousand-Year Ancient Village, Hundred Ancestral Halls, Hundred Ponds, Hundred Grand Residences,” earning the title of “Jiangnan’s No. 1 Ancestral Hall Village.” Recently, reporters ascended the ancient fortress atop Donglong Ridge and took in the full panorama of the village. Within the settlement, ancestral halls, residences, temples, pagodas, stone bridges, and fortresses were scattered like stars, built along the contours of Donglong Ridge and Nanqiao Ridge. To the north and south, clear streams meandered through the village, linking sparkling ponds before flowing westward. The entire Donglong Village was seamlessly integrated into the embrace of green hills and lucid waters.

According to local expert Teacher Li Liangjing, when the village was first established during the Northern Song Dynasty, the Li ancestors selected Donglong Ridge and Nanqiao Ridge—the two most majestic and longest mountain ranges among the many—as the village’s two dragon veins. Aligning with their topography, they constructed residences on one ridge and ancestral halls on the other, with temples built opposite the ancestral halls. This created three distinct yet independent spaces for living, ancestor worship, and paying homage to heaven. These spaces were interconnected by pathways, forming a seemingly scattered yet actually unified whole. Additionally, to enhance drainage and fire prevention, over 100 ponds of various shapes were dug in the residential area. Two streams were also channeled down from the high mountains to the north and south, winding gracefully around the village and forming a landscape of encircling mountains and flowing waters. Thus, the entire village blended harmoniously into the green hills and waters, fully embodying a human-centric layout and the architectural philosophy of harmony between man and nature.

Hundred Ancestral Halls Through Wind and Rain

At its peak, Donglong Village had hundreds of ancestral halls, both large and small. After centuries of weathering, 48 remain today, along with 2 academies, 2 communal granaries, 1 ancient pagoda, 3 temples, 5 pavilions, 4 stone bridges, 4 fortresses, 4 mountain passes, and over 140 shops and residential buildings—all retaining the traditional architectural style of southern Jiangxi’s Hakka people.

On the southwestern plain lies the “Dongli Yi Wang,” also known as the “Renfang Ancestral Hall,” covering a total area of more than 4,300 square meters. Built in the 12th year of the Yongzheng reign of the Qing Dynasty (1734) by Li Renfang, it consists of five main parts: the front courtyard, rear courtyard, eastern garden, western garden, and the Renfang Ancestral Hall. With over 100 rooms—including the ancestral hall, council chamber, grain and treasure storage, corridors, side rooms, embroidery tower, private school, servants’ quarters, courtyards, and watchtowers—it earned the name “Hundred-Room Mansion.”

The Lower Ancestral Hall of the Li family, located beneath the Rabbit-Shaped Hill in the northwest, was built during the Zhengtong era of the Ming Dynasty. It features a brick-and-timber frame structure in the style of a noble residence. The interior employs the “beam-lifting pillar” technique of palace architecture, supported by 75 round fir logs and crisscrossing beams. Its brackets and joints are adorned with carvings of carp, lotus flowers, dragons, phoenixes, and qilins.

The Shenzhai Ancestral Hall, built in the late Ming Dynasty, is a lineage-specific hall featuring upper and lower halls and left and right side rooms, separated by a screen wall. The hall has a solemn exterior but an exquisitely crafted interior. At the village center stands the Weishang Ancestral Hall, an elegant civil-official memorial structure built in the style of an enclosed compound, with halls, side rooms, courtyards, and protective walls. The gate is a wooden fence with a latticed wooden panel above and bamboo-and-wood planks tightly fastened below. Wooden supports shaped like elephant heads convey the meaning of “peace under heaven,” lending the structure a dignified and awe-inspiring aura. Adjacent to it is the Junren Ancestral Hall, a military-official shrine featuring exquisite carvings of figures that express the owners’ aspirations for their descendants to be incorruptible officials and benevolent rulers.

The rare Hundred-Room Mansion complex tells the story of the brilliance created by Hakka ancestors. This blessed land of green hills also nurtured countless outstanding individuals. In an atmosphere of reverence for literature and education, Donglong has produced generations of talent. Notable figures include Li Tengjiao, one of the “Nine Masters of Yitang” and a celebrated literary figure of the early Qing Dynasty; Li Daji, a Neo-Confucian scholar of the Qing Dynasty; and Li Xuenan, former deputy director of the Political Department of the South China Sea Fleet.

The simple yet majestic ancestral halls and exquisite Hakka architecture of Donglong Village are truly breathtaking, while natural wonders such as the Rainbow Bridge Locking the Waters, the Arhat Showing Its Belly, and the Pagoda Reflections on the Lake are equally enchanting. Unknowingly, evening falls, the sunset reddens the horizon, and the Wenfeng Pagoda on Xishan Hill shines brilliantly. After a thousand years, the ancient pagoda still points resolutely toward the sky, exuding grandeur.

Source: Gannan Evening News, GanZhou Net — Reporters: Xie Donglin, Interns: Xu Xiaoquan, Cai Mansheng (Text & Photos)