Wuyuan, a county
set in the mountains of Jiangxi
province, is an ideal place to
slow down, wander among old homes
and smell the flowers. Zhang Zixuan
checks out the scenery.
If
there's one place that evokes
the tranquil beauty of Chinese ink
painting, it is Wuyuan. The county
in northeastern Jiangxi province, dubbed
"China's most beautiful countryside",
features hills dotted with black and
white homes.
Established in the
Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), Wuyuan is
one of the cradles of Huizhou
culture, which was nurtured by booming
trade and featured strong influences
of clans and Confucianism. The
county's distinctive homes, built in
the style of Huizhou architecture,
have black roofs and white
walls.
The walls themselves are
inlaid with black bricks shaped like
horse heads, hence the name
"horse-head walls". With the passage
of time, rain and moisture have
penetrated the white walls and have
given them the watered down look
of ink paintings.
In strict
accordance with tradition, the brick
and wood structures are decorated with
exquisitely handcrafted wood, brick and
stone sculptures, now considered State-level
intangible cultural heritage
pieces.
Homes are interspersed
with ancestral temples, showing the
residents' respect and pride for their
community's history. The buildings are
also constructed at different heights
to prevent fires from quickly
spreading.
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