Fengxi Village

Fengxi Village

Fengxi Village

Fengxi Village in Fengxi, Fuchuan Yao Autonomous County, Guangxi, is located 15 kilometers from the county seat of Fuchuan. It boasts picturesque scenery with clear mountains and waters and is often veiled in colorful clouds. The entire village is well-organized, with streets, archways, houses, temples, ancestral halls, stages, and covered bridges all dating back to the Ming Dynasty. The cultural relics and historic sites of the village can be described by the “six abundances.”

First is the abundance of archways. The village is divided into four sections based on surnames, and each section has built various archways such as those at the village entrance, large residences, main houses, and cross streets. Each major archway also contains several sub-archways. On both sides of the archways are engraved couplets, and in the central square frames above the archways, there are either vivid paintings or bold characters such as “Purple Air Comes from the East” or “Bumper Harvest.”

Second is the abundance of ancestral halls. The village has six major surnames—Pan, Chen, Jiang, Cen, Li, and Zhai—each of which has built an ancestral hall.

Third is the abundance of temples and monasteries. In this small village alone, there are four such sites, including “Jiangbian Temple,” “Zhongjian Temple,” and “Suoshui Nunnery.”

Fourth is the abundance of shrines. Shrines such as “Qixing Shrine,” “Fengshan Shrine,” and “Zhenyan Shrine” are built on the hillside behind the village.

Fifth is the abundance of bridges and pavilions. There are three covered bridges named “Chaoyang,” “Fushou,” and “Qingsong.” Additionally, there are other historic structures including a stone arch bridge, the Fenggu Bridge, as well as an octagonal pavilion, the Qingfeng Pavilion, a Filial Piety Archway, the Jingzi Pavilion, and the Shengji Pavilion.

Sixth is the abundance of ancient stages. The ancient stages are integrated with the ancestral halls, temples, monasteries, and shrines of each surname, forming a complex of historic architecture. Research shows that the earliest theatrical troupe (specifically, the Gui Opera troupe) in the Yao region of Fuchuan originated in Fengxi Village. The art of theatrical performance has a long history, flourishing continuously since the first troupe was established during the Jiaqing and Daoguang eras of the Qing Dynasty.