Longtan Village, Guangzhou

Longtan Village, Guangzhou

Longtan Village is located in Xinjiao Town, Haizhu District, Guangzhou. It is an ancient Lingnan water town with a long history and rich culture, as well as a village filled with mysterious legends and abundant local produce. Legend has it that the village was once the dwelling place of dragons — a haunt for these mythical creatures — hence its original name "Longting" (Dragon Court), which was later changed to "Longtan" (Dragon Pool).

The village is crisscrossed with waterways, exemplifying the typical water townscapes of the Pearl River Delta. The Dragon Boat Festival customs in Longtan Village have been practiced for over a hundred years. Eating “Dragon Boat Rice” is a grand gathering for farmers in the Pearl River Delta and a continuation of traditional communal feasting. The funds for these banquets mainly come from donations by local factories, shops, specialized households, individual businesses, and ordinary villagers, as well as sponsorships from compatriots in Hong Kong and Macau and overseas Chinese. Additional proceeds are raised through auctions of dragon boat components.

Feike Bai Ancestral Hall

The ancestors of Longtan Village migrated from the Central Plains to Zhujixiang in Guangdong, and then made their way to Longtan Village. The earliest settlers included families with the surnames Han, Yang, Che, Ma, Li, Luo, and Li. Among them, the Yang, Che, and Ma families reclaimed a plot of land near the entrance of what is now Longtan Village and settled there, naming it “Sanshiwei” (Three Surname Enclosure), which later became known as “Sanshengwei” (Three Prosperity Enclosure). From the Yuan Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, people with other surnames gradually moved in, eventually forming the current natural village inhabited by eight major family clans: Huang, Bai, He, Li, Du, Wu, Chen, and Liang.

Location: Xinjiao Town, Haizhu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province

Transportation: Within Guangzhou, take bus routes 14, 18, 45, 90, 250, 252, 270, 302A, 304, 311, 468, 582, 583, 763, 765, 779, 801, or 988 and get off at Longtan Village Station.

Archway of “Benevolence and Charity” (Imperial Edict Archway)

Xingren Academy

Xingren Academy

Xingren Academy