Peng’s Residence at Longxi Lake

Peng’s Residence at Longxi Lake

Peng’s Residence at Longxi Lake in Shezhu Village, Shouche Town, faces south and is built against the mountain. Unlike the common layout of one main house with a left wing or one main house with two wings, it features a unique design with just one main house and a right wing. The stilt-style construction employs a terrain-adaptive elevation method, a feature commonly seen in Tujia ethnic mountain villages located by streams at the foot of mountains. This approach not only reflects the Tujia people’s pursuit of harmony with nature and efficient use of resources, but is also tied to their belief that “a soaring green dragon is welcome, but a rising white tiger is feared” as well as the folk custom that guests should not overshadow the host. The residence spans 20.1 meters from east to west and 15.3 meters from north to south, with a ridge height of 7.56 meters and eave height of 3.7 meters. The main structure originally had three bays supported by a five-pillar, four-bracket through-tenon frame, which was later expanded on the northern side to a six-pillar, five-bracket structure. The floor plan follows the traditional Tujia residential layout, with a central hall flanked by rooms featuring a fireplace at the front and bedrooms at the rear.

The upper floor of the stilt house was used as the girls’ quarters. The corridor eaves were designed for cooling off and drying items, while the lower floor served as a space for storing miscellaneous items and conducting processing work, with a dedicated staircase connecting the two levels. Most uniquely, the stair platform features a curved turn—a rare design in typical Tujia homes. The combination of the stilt house’s front eave decorations and upturned corners, along with the unevenly spaced stilts and the undulating crossbeams that follow the mountain’s contour, gives the entire building a vivid and distinctive charm.

Shouche Town: Located in the northwest of Yongshun County, 25 kilometers from the county seat and bordered to the north by Longche Township and Tani Township of Longshan County. The town covers a total area of 114.8 square kilometers, with 8,747 mu of arable land, including 7,530 mu of paddy fields. It administers 14 administrative villages and 2 neighborhood committees, comprising 83 villager groups, with a total population of 12,610, of which 11,616 are agricultural residents. The area is surrounded by mountains, and the Mengdong River flows from north to south through the region. National Highway 209 runs through six villages over a stretch of 15 kilometers, while an east-west county road connects four villages. Water transport is available via the Ma’anshan Reservoir, making transportation very convenient. … Shouche Town detailed information++