Xingqiao Shipian Village

Xingqiao Shipian Village

Longevity Culture Village — Xingqiao Shipian Village is a settlement of descendants of Liu Chenweng, a renowned patriotic poet of the Southern Song Dynasty. Located in Xingqiao Town on the western outskirts of Jizhou District, Ji’an City, on the right side of the Ji’an–Anfu Highway, it now intersects perpendicularly with Shipian Road and Diaoyuan Village Access Road at the Ji’an–Fu Highway. It is 6 km from the Diaoyuan Ancient Village scenic area and 15 km from Jizhou urban area, accessible by bus. The village was first established in the early Ming Dynasty and has a history of over 500 years. Its layout resembles a “dragon and phoenix playing with a pearl,” and its architectural style emphasizes the theme of longevity culture. There are more than 30 well-preserved ancient buildings from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, most of which are neatly arranged and retain their original appearance. The village is home to many ancient trees, including persimmon, camphor, osmanthus, sandalwood, and oak, among which there are over 10 camphor, sandalwood, and oak trees with ages close to 500 years. Major attractions include the Pantaibai Shou Ancestral Hall, Five-Colored Camellia Tree, Millennium Ancient Camphor Tree, and Goldfish Pond.

I. “Pantaibai Shou Ancestral Hall.” Also known as the “Liu Family Ancestral Hall.” This is a Qing Dynasty private ancestral hall that features an unusual layout yet complete functionality, exquisite craftsmanship, and a serene atmosphere. It is also a rare example in ancient Chinese architecture of a private ancestral hall complex designed around the theme of longevity culture and inspired by the image of a magical peach. The architectural form modeled after a peach is the most unique aspect of the “Pantaibai Shou Ancestral Hall.” The building complex is shaped like a peach to symbolize and express the owner’s strong desire for “longevity.” The ancestral hall covers an area of about 1,800 square meters and consists of various function-specific structures such as the Genben Hall, Wenchang Courtyard, and Shequ Garden. Inside the Genben Hall, 101 “shou” (longevity) characters of varying sizes—some over one and a half inches in diameter, others less than an inch long, all written in different styles and none alike—are inlaid across the massive beams, ceilings, and window lattices. On the large beam above the main hall of the Genben Hall, there is a two-meter-long, exquisitely gilded relief sculpture depicting the “Guo Ziyi Birthday Celebration Scene,” grand and majestic in scale. In the Wenchang Courtyard, over a hundred peaches rendered in carvings on the corridors, pavilions, and lattice windows are vividly lifelike and charming. The gleaming nine-tiered roof is a visual treat. The ancestral hall was built in the 4th year of the Tongzhi reign during the Qing Dynasty (1864 AD), along with ten complexes of “Da Fu Di” and “Tong Feng Di” buildings located thirty zhang south of the ancestral hall. The entire project was funded by Liu Qizhan, then 67 years old, a wealthy salt merchant from Xiangtan, Hunan, who had earned a second-rank official title through multiple charitable donations, honored as “Hao Shou Tong Feng Daifu, Shan Dai Hua Ling.” The construction took fifteen years to complete.

II. Five-Colored Camellia Tree. Located in the Wenchang Palace courtyard of the Pantaibai Shou Ancestral Hall, this tree was carried back from Xiangtan, Hunan, in a bridal sedan chair by the owner Liu Qizhan and planted here over 120 years ago. The trunk has a circumference of 0.6 meters, the tree stands over 4 meters tall, and the crown spans over 3 meters in radius. Each year in the first lunar month, it blooms with camellias in five colors—milky white, pink, crimson, light yellow, and golden yellow—the blooming period lasting three months. It is extremely rare and breathtakingly beautiful.

III. Dragon and Phoenix Playing with a Pearl Layout. The undulating hills stretching five to six li behind the village resemble a giant dragon dancing and soaring; the 18 ponds of varying sizes in front of the village look like a colorful phoenix spreading its wings. From top to bottom, there are the Phoenix Head Pond, Phoenix Neck Pond, Phoenix Belly Pond, and Phoenix Tail Pond. The ponds are edged with blue bricks and connected by stone slab bridges, each linked to the next. The entire village sits between the dragon and the phoenix, which is why it was referred to in the past as the blessed land of the “dragon and phoenix playing with a pearl.”

IV. Millennium Ancient Camphor Tree. Planted by the founding ancestor as a feng shui tree, it serves as an indicator of the village’s prosperity or decline. The tree has withered and flourished several times. However, over the past 20 years or so, it has grown increasingly lush, and in recent years, the village has seen a flourishing of talent and prosperity, truly miraculous.