Shikantou Village

　　Shikantou Village is an ancient settlement in Jixi County. A well-known local rhyme, “Shikantou, Shikantou, three steps to the bed and you’ve reached the stone,” vividly captures the village’s unique topography. The entire village is divided in two by the Yunchuan Stream, which winds its way through, forming a quaint water street. Stretching over 2,000 meters from the southern to the northern end of the village, the stream is spanned by more than ten ancient bridges, built during the Ming and Qing dynasties, that arch gracefully over the water like rainbows. Fourteen narrow, winding alleys twist unpredictably through the village, some so tight that passersby going in opposite directions must sidestep to get by. Over half of the village’s residences are architecture from the Ming and Qing periods, earning praise from experts at the Anhui Provincial Environmental Protection Bureau as “a pearl among Huizhou’s ancient villages.” Many artists come here to sketch and paint, lauding it as “even older, more layered, and more charming than Xidi Village in Yi County.”