The Residences of Jiajia Village

The Residences of Jiajia Villagers

The Residences of Jiajia Villagers are a cultural relic protection unit of Jiangxi Province.

Jiajia Ancient Village, located within the jurisdiction of Jingxian Village Committee, Xinjie Town, 25 kilometers south of Gao'an City, was first built in the first year of the Kaibao era of the Song Dynasty (968 AD) and covers a total area of 8.5 square kilometers.

Jiajia Ancient Village is a well-preserved architectural complex of typical Jiangyou-style (Jiangxi regional style) buildings from the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. The ancient village is divided into an "Inner Enclosure" and an "Outer Enclosure." The building types mainly include ancestral halls, rain shelters, main halls, official reception rooms, living rooms, and residential houses. It is praised as the "real-life House of the Duke of Rongguo," with over 500 civilian houses, including more than 300 ancient houses from the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, and 119 houses that are well-preserved and have inscribed plaques.

The residential area of Jiajia Ancient Village is divided into two parts: the "Inner Enclosure" and the "Outer Enclosure," with nine gatehouses, three of which still remain. The building types mainly include ancestral halls, rain shelters, main halls, official reception rooms, living rooms, and residential houses. There are currently more than 300 ancient residential houses, over 140 of which were built in the late Yuan and early Ming periods; there are also 18 academies, nunneries, temples, and Taoist monasteries. At the southern end of the village stands a seven-tiered jade pagoda symbolizing the culture of the She Mountain Jiajia family. To the north of the village, the Wenquan and Lüquan springs converge around a thousand-year-old bridge, creating a picturesque scene of small bridges, flowing water, and quaint houses.

The ancient alleys of Jiajia Village crisscross each other, with paths paved in blue bricks and bluestone. The village’s drainage system is scientifically designed and still in use today. There are 12 ponds scattered throughout the village, used to regulate rainwater and manage silt. The exteriors feature fireproof walls, while the interiors are made of wooden frameworks, including both through-tenon and raised-beam styles. Nunneries, halls, ancestral temples, monasteries, Taoist shrines, and academies are spread throughout and around the ancient village. There are numerous cultural relics such as sedan chairs, spirit tablets, plaques, ancient ceramics, and wooden furniture, and a seven-tiered jade pagoda stands in the fields in front of the ancient village. The surrounding vegetation coverage is high, with many ancient and famous trees. Not far in front of the village, the Wenquan and Lüquan springs converge to form a small river that flows for 4 kilometers before joining the Xiao River. The Houlong Mountain and Santai Mountain ranges extend for fourteen kilometers all the way to Junling Mountain. To the north of the village, there is Lüquan Lake to the east and Zhushan Reservoir to the west. The reservoir’s main canal loops around the village from north to south. The entire village is situated in an “inverted U” shape, resembling a golden basin placed on the ground. When Jia Jiliang founded the settlement here during the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty (1368–1398), he believed the location gathered water from all directions, bringing in wealth and good feng shui without letting it flow out.