Shizhai Village

Shizhai Village

Shizhai Village is a natural village within Shizhai Village, Luoyuan Town, Sihui City. It is called Shizhai (Stone Fortress Village) because most of the houses in the village are built with stone blocks; it is called Shizhai because behind the village stands a towering and precipitous large rocky mountain.

It is called the “Stone Fortress Stone Village” not only because the village is built against the mountain, but also because there is an “Ancient Stone Fortress.” The “Ancient Stone Fortress” is located in front of Shizhai Village. As you approach this ancient stone fortress, you can see the stone walls that appear “not man-made.” These walls encircle the village and stretch for a full li (approximately 500 meters), with large, precisely placed stones.

“Forests are quiet and windless, yet people arrive without startling birds. Tracing the dreams of relics in the southern land, the ancient fortress shines brilliantly under the sun.” The Ancient Stone Fortress has a history of over 400 years.

There is a legend about the “Ancient Stone Fortress”: one night, a flash flood occurred; the floodwaters submerged the fields and were about to engulf the village. The villagers were panicked and helpless, resigned to being flooded—until the next morning when they stepped outside their homes and saw a sturdy stone fortress surrounding the village, blocking the floodwaters and protecting the villagers. It is said that immortals built this stone fortress for the village.

Major Attractions

Towering Rocks

The large rocks behind the village hang and overlap in midair—some coiled like dragons and tigers, others jagged and steep like wolf’s teeth. They seem to pose dangerous threats. But the villagers say that since the village was established, there has never been an incident of rocks falling onto the village. The villagers believe in a legendary story: Shizhai is the root of the immortals. Since the large rocky mountain is the “Lotus Seat of Guanyin,” the village is forever protected by the immortals.

Shizhai Village is beautiful because of its stones and its mountains. The Qing Dynasty edition of the “Sihui County Annals” states: “Seven stone mountains stand in a row like a screen, namely: Stone Hole, Banqian, Ox Nose, Round Eye, Hunting Dog, Lion, and Elephant…” Here, the mountains take on countless forms, and “Stone Hole Mountain has a unique cave for leisure and rest, with spring water emerging from rock crevices. Cool in summer and warm in winter, the springs never dry up year-round. The stone veins emerge from the foot of Biluo Peak, rising abruptly from the flat fields, reflecting each other from afar. Viewed from a distance, they resemble the Seven-Star Crags of the prefectural city—an equally marvelous sight.”

Century-Old Melia Azedarach Trees

Luoyuan Town, Sihui City, Shizhai Administrative Village, is the hometown of the Melia azedarach tree (also known as the “Chinese chinaberry” or “persimmon-leafed chinaberry”). Chinaberry trees are planted all around the village and near homes, yielding over 190,000 kilograms of chinaberry fruits per year. Shizhai Village still preserves a grove of over 400-year-old Melia azedarach trees, totaling 19 trees covering an area of 6,600 square meters. Within the grove, there is an ancient “elder tree” standing 21 meters tall, with a trunk circumference of 6.6 meters and a crown spread of 25 meters. It was planted in 1470 AD by Jiang Huaiyan, a descendant of the Jiang family who migrated from Jiangxiang in Gaoweiwei, Sihui, to Shizhai Village. That makes the tree 527 years old. The old tree remains lush with branches and leaves, featuring robust buttress roots, ancient and upright. It flowers and bears fruit every year, typically producing 500 kilograms of chinaberry fruits in a normal year, and up to 1,750 kilograms in bumper years, generating a value of up to 14,000 yuan.

Local Specialties

Shizhai is the production site of Sihui’s specialty: the chinaberry fruit. Chinaberry is a rare delicacy among dried fruits. Every June, when the crops ripen, it is also the season for harvesting chinaberries. The chinaberry trees captivate visitors.

The chinaberry fruit is also known as the “human face fruit” or “renmianzi.” It belongs to the Anacardiaceae family and is a large evergreen tree, distributed in the tropical and subtropical evergreen monsoon forests of southern China. Since ancient times, the chinaberry fruit has been widely loved, and it is commonly cultivated in both urban and rural areas of Guangdong. The Qing Dynasty scholar Qu Dajun recorded in “Guangdong New Language”: “Mountain dwellers, whose ancestors wished to leave something for their descendants, would plant many chinaberry and black olive trees. The chinaberry is sold for its fruit, while the black olive is sold for its nuts and kernels. For over a hundred years, families have benefited from these.” The chinaberry tree is valued for its high economic and ecological benefits.

The wood of the chinaberry tree is beautiful in color, easy to process, and an excellent material for construction and furniture. With its majestic tree form, large crown, and evergreen foliage, it is also a great choice for gardens and landscape greening. The fruit can be eaten fresh or processed into dried fruits and chinaberry jam. Sihui’s specialty chinaberry jam, with its sweet and sour flavor, is a premium condiment used in both Chinese and Western cuisines during the summer.