Hongcun Village

With stone bridges, white walls, water lily ponds and hills, Hongcun Village has been described as a village out of a traditional Chinese ink painting.

Hongcun Village (宏村) is about 11 km from the county town of Yixian County. The whole village was originally laid out in the shape of an ox. The west end of the village, called Leigang Hill, resembles an ox head and that is where two huge trees stand like ox horns.

At the front and rear of the village are four bridges that span a Jiyin stream and resemble four legs of the ox. The several hundred well-arranged houses form the body of the ox, and the 1,000-meter-long Jiyin stream that meanders through the village is regarded as its intestines. A crescent pond in the village is the ox's fourth stomach, and a larger South Lake is its reticulum, the second stomach. The villagers of Hongcun long ago designed this marvelous landscape.

Price: 80 yuan (including guide fee) in busy season, 65 yuan in low season; (students, soldiers, elders and children enjoy a discount)
How to get there: It is located in the southwestern part of Yixian County. Take bus from the county seat; the 11km journey only costs 2 yuan.
Tips: 1. Jushantang is a very good hostel in Hongcun Village. It is famous for elegant decoration and delicious village cuisine. It cost 80 yuan per person including 3 meals;
2. It has many tasty snacks, such as Daode cake, that you shouldn't miss.