Turtle Village with Reverse Flowing Water

Turtle Village with Reverse Flowing Water

Turtle Village with Reverse Flowing Water is a protected cultural heritage site of Dongguan City.

Turtle Village with Reverse Flowing Water is located in Baisha Village, Humen Town, Dongguan City. It was built during the Ming Dynasty's Chongzhen era by Zheng Yu, Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, covering an area of 6,889 square meters. The entire village is laid out in the shape of a turtle, with its front facing a small stream that appears to flow upstream—hence the name. A two-meter-wide straight lane runs north-south through the village, intersected by four three-meter-wide cross lanes running east-west; the houses are arranged in an orderly fashion, resembling the shell plates of a money turtle. Watchtowers are situated at each of the four corners of the village wall as well as at the north, south, and central points along the north-south axis—the one at the north end represents the turtle’s head, while the one at the south end symbolizes the tail. The turtle’s tail serves as the village’s only exit, with a gate inscribed with the stone plaque “Protection Within the Community,” originally featuring a wooden drawbridge (now replaced with a concrete one). The four corner towers represent the turtle’s legs. Outside the walls lies a 18-meter-wide moat encircling the village. Owing to its watery surroundings, it is also known as a “water fortress.” Aside from some collapsed sections of the walls and individual houses where newer buildings have been erected, the rest of the village remains largely in its original state. The internal water channels, wells, and other facilities are well preserved.

In 1993, the Dongguan Municipal People's Government designated it as a cultural heritage protection unit.