Xiaoh River Ancient Village · Pingmei Scenic Area

Xiaoh River Ancient Village · Pingmei Scenic Area

Xiaoh River Ancient Village · Pingmei Scenic Area is a national AAA-level tourist attraction.

Located in Xiaoh River Ancient Village, Yijing Town on the outskirts, the Xiaoh River Ancient Village · Pingmei Scenic Area is the first Chinese Historical and Cultural Famous Village and a Traditional Chinese Village in Yangquan City. It is named after Shi Pingmei, a renowned literary figure of the Republican era.

The deep courtyards and layered architecture make you feel as if you’ve traveled back in time. In this ancient village, you’ll find the Shi Family Courtyard, the Li Family Courtyard, the Old Shi Family Courtyard, and more; the lanes include Fudi Lane, Li Family Ancestral Hall Lane, Yi Yuan Xing Lane, East Old Shi Residence Lane, and West Old Shi Residence Lane; there are also historical relics such as ancient wells and old mills. Xiaoh Village preserves relatively intact and authentic historical remains, along with a wealth of historical and cultural information, reflecting a high level of cultural sophistication and the glory of the culture at that time. It bears witness to the lifestyle and cultural characteristics of the region during the Ming and Qing dynasties, holding significant historical, artistic, and scientific value.

Xiaoh Village has a profound cultural foundation, with a rich legacy of existing architectural heritage totaling 183,000 square meters from the Ming, Qing, and Republican periods. The architectural types in this historical and cultural famous village are also highly diverse, including temple structures such as the Guan Yu Temple and the Guanyin Nunnery, ancestral hall buildings like the Shi Family Ancestral Hall, Li Family Ancestral Hall, and Dou Family Ancestral Hall, as well as commercial buildings such as pawnshops, shops, and vinegar workshops.

· Natural Heritage ·

Xiaoh Village is surrounded by rolling hills covered in lush greenery. In front of the village flows a small river (now covered beneath the road), with mountains behind and water in front — embracing the shade and facing the sun. The mountainous backdrop shields it from northwest sandstorms while allowing ample sunlight; the nearby water source offers convenience for daily life. The entire ancient village is simple, peaceful, tranquil, and exudes a serene, rustic, natural, and pristine beauty. Nestled within these green mountains, legend has it that Japanese troops once passed by the village entrance without even noticing its existence, a testament to its beautiful surroundings. The Xiaoh River flows quietly, and wisps of cooking smoke rise from the houses, creating a scene reminiscent of a paradise on earth.

Most of the buildings in Xiaoh Village follow the contours of the hills, constructed freely, organically, and without artificiality among the valleys and slopes, blending seamlessly with the mountain terrain. Larger residences are also terraced along the slope, such as the Shi Family Courtyard, where you must climb 76 steps from the first entrance step to reach the main room at the highest point. The buildings create a rich sense of layering; when viewed from below, they appear stacked harmoniously with a perfect layout; when seen from above, the entire Xiaoh Village unfolds before your eyes, offering a view of the idyllic mountain-surrounded scenery.

Xiaoh Village has many ancient trees, some over 300 years old, mostly Chinese scholar trees, with fewer other species. For example, in the Li Family Courtyard, there is a lilac tree and an ancient cypress, while the Shi Family Courtyard has two ancient cypresses. Typically, public gathering spaces form around these ancient trees, where people chat, enjoy tea, and play chess, savoring the endless pleasures of rural life. These ancient trees have also witnessed the long history of Xiaoh Historical and Cultural Famous Village.

Xiaoh Village has a strong religious cultural atmosphere, with sites such as the Guan Yu Temple, Guanyin Nunnery, and Shen Cui Palace, as well as ancestral halls like the Shi Family Ancestral Hall, Li Family Ancestral Hall, and Dou Family Ancestral Hall. The Guan Yu Temple and Guanyin Nunnery remain active places of worship, where villagers pay tribute during festivals, maintaining traditional religious beliefs and rituals with a long-standing spiritual heritage. The area also boasts rich local folk culture, such as household shrines to the Earth God for blessings of prosperity, small lion carvings on rooftops to ward off evil and protect homes, red couplets during the Spring Festival, and blue-purple couplets at funeral entrances. Xiaoh Historical and Cultural Famous Village also features distinctive local foods such as fried oil cakes, noodles, and pickled vegetables.

· Celebrity Culture ·

Xiaoh Village has a long history, brimming with talent and notable figures. In the 1920s, the renowned Chinese writer and pioneer of the women’s movement, Shi Pingmei, was originally from Xiaoh Village. Shi Pingmei (1902–1928) enrolled in the Beijing Women’s Higher Normal School in 1919, where she developed the aspiration to “undertake great endeavors with a healthy spirit.” She actively participated in various progressive social activities and dedicated herself to literary creation. A gifted writer with abundant works, she was fiercely principled and courageous. Her deeply moving love story with Gao Junyu, an outstanding early political activist of the Chinese Communist Party, is equally legendary. Deng Yingchao once wrote: “Comrade Enlai and I greatly admired the love between Comrade Gao Junyu and Shi Pingmei. We deeply sympathized with the tragedy that they were unable to marry, which ended with the untimely death of Comrade Gao Junyu. Our remembrance of them remains strong to this day.” Shi Pingmei’s revolutionary spirit, fighting spirit, unyielding determination, and devotion to love will forever inspire future generations.

Shi Pingmei (1902 – September 18, 1928) was the shortest-lived modern female writer in China. She was from Pingding County, Shanxi Province. Her childhood name was Xinzhu, and her formal name was Rubi. She chose the pen name Shi Pingmei out of admiration for the beauty and resilience of plum blossoms; she also used other pen names such as Pingmei Lady, Bowei, Shuxue, Binghua, Xinzhu, Mengdai, and Lina. Shi Pingmei’s father, Shi Ming (also known as Dingcheng), was a successful candidate in the imperial examinations during the late Qing Dynasty; her mother, his second wife, cherished her as the apple of their eye. From a young age, Shi Pingmei was nurtured by her family’s scholarly tradition: her father taught her the basics, instructing her in the “Four Books…” More details on Shi Pingmei ++