Eng Village Ancient Village

Eng Village Ancient Village

Located 7 kilometers southwest of Chengkou Town Government and 30 kilometers from the Danxia Mountain Scenic Area, Eng Village is traversed by National Highway 106. The village comprises 8 village groups and 1 village-run forest farm. With a population of over 1,400, it is an ancient village with a long history, unique architectural style, and profound cultural heritage.

Meng Niansi, the founding ancestor of the Meng family in Eng Village, came to Shaozhou from Yudu, Jiangxi during the Yuanyou era of Emperor Shenzong of the Song Dynasty to engage in trade and eventually settled in Eng Village, Renhua. Over the course of the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, this small mountain village produced 26 imperial examination graduates (jinshi) over nine hundred years, along with more than 300 individuals who passed military examinations, annual tribute exams, exceptional tribute exams, imperial college exams, prefectural school exams, and imperial university exams. It was known as a place where "officials and scholars abounded," earning the title “The Premier Family of the South of the Yangtze.”

Despite generations of officials moving away and the family spreading to other regions, the remaining villagers in Eng Village have remained committed to their ancestors’ legacy of “prospering through farming and scholarship,” preserving a cultural tradition and ethical atmosphere that has lasted for centuries. They strive to protect the village’s cultural relics and historical glory. This small village, with just over 300 households and predominantly the Meng surname, boasts seven ancestral halls, four memorial archways, two gate towers, and one fortress. The ancient city walls can still be seen stretching across the landscape, with imposing battlements and gates still standing. Though the watchtower has collapsed, its majestic presence remains; the moat is no longer in use, but the remnants and ponds from those times are still there. Villagers’ homes also house treasured items such as ancient paintings, birthday banners, official robes and hats, ancestral portraits, shrine ritual utensils, the Four Treasures of the Study (writing brushes, ink sticks, inkstones, and paper), furniture, and antiques...

In November 2009, Eng Village Ancient Village was designated as one of the second batch of Ancient Villages in Guangdong Province.

Source: People's Government of Renhua County

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