Xidi Village (10/21/2012)

Sunday, October 21, 2012
(Continued from Hongcun Village.)
We had hoped to see autumn colors on this trip, but we were two weeks too early. In this area, the best colors are seen in the first two weeks of November.
Xidi Village was also named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000. It is the home of the Hu clan.

This village is known for the Huwenguang Paifang, the three-tiered decorative arch:

A stone carved lion:

The detail of the double-sided arch was amazing:

KSS

What is even more amazing is that this arch survived, when a dozen other arches did not survive the Cultural Revolution.
A doorway detail with some strange plants growing on the tiles:

Kent spotted something down a side street, and got a small crowd following us to investigate:

KSS

A slaughtered pig:

KSS

Cleaning the entrails (thanks, Colin!):

A jumble of walls:

The Taomeiyuan/Peach and Plum Garden was the home of two brothers. Bats were prevalent in the wood carvings because the sound for bat is similar to that of fortune in Chinese:

Plum blossom carvings:

Moore horsehead walls:

A stone carving from a single block:

A carving of a leaf from the West Garden:

A so-called "bed-shaped" carving in the East Garden:

This door was in the study of the house, and somehow the bed is to relax the person who is studying...
An ancient padlock:

KSS

We visited many residences in this village and often saw only the main room of the house. Sometimes this was because a family still lived there. The front room then became like an antique or junk shop.
Shanghai girl-type poster:

KSS

Pumpkins:

Ducks in the (trashed) water channel:

Pepper cookies baking in the oven:

Jing'ai Hall with "fencing" in the front:

This character is for filial piety, the first of the virtues in Chinese culture:

The top of the character looks like a man's profile on the right side (one who follows the right way is a man), and the opposite side looks like a monkey's profile (and one who doesn't is a monkey).
More carved wood detail:

Dafu Hall with the Husband-Choosing Balcony:

A girl would throw an embroidered ball to the boy she chose for a husband. I hope she had good aim!
Artists sketching the balcony:

Zhuimu Ancestral Hall:

Offerings of pig, ox, and lamb:

The Hu family claims Li Shimin, one of the Emperors in Tang Dynasty, as an ancestor:

A bridal sedan chair (the bride has phoenixes on her chair):

Our guide took us to the Pig's Inn for a break ( and to kill time?):

The Pig's Inn is a bed and breakfast with plenty of places to relax:

 Tamiko at rest:

KSS

Kent tried a local beer, Ynksun Beer:

A mini water garden:

View of rooftops:

Our guide Jerry showing us one of the bedrooms:

KSS

Former clients leave photos and business cards:

The lobby:

KSS

In winter, the folks kept warm by sitting in a wooden tub with hot coals under their feet:

KSS

Time to be driven back to Huangshan City for a few hours and dinner at Tunxi Old Street, then off to the airport for a 22:30 flight back to Shanghai (which was a half hour late due to air traffic congestion).