Gaoyi ancient village

Gaoyi ancient village, located 48 kilometers northeast of Huitong County, is a large-scale and well preserved ancient folk architecture village in Ming and Qing Dynasties, which has been praised as "the first village in the south of the Yangtze River" and "Folk Museum" by experts.

In May 2002, it was officially approved as a key cultural relics protection unit in Hunan Province. In June 2005, it was listed as the Sixth Batch of key cultural relics protection units in China and a famous historical and cultural village in the whole province. It has a high value of tourism development. The ancient village now has 104 ancient civilian buildings from Hongwu 13 of Ming Dynasty to Guangxu 7 of Qing Dynasty (1380-1881), with a total construction area of 19416 square meters.

Gaoyi ancient village

It is one of the top ten ancient villages in China and a national key cultural relics protection unit. Key cultural relics protection units in Hunan Province and famous historical and cultural villages in Hunan Province. It is located in gaoyigu township of Huitong County in Southwest Hunan Province, the hometown of Suyu, the first general of the people's Republic of China. It is named because it is surrounded by mountains on three sides and faces water on one side, and the terrain is like a chair. There are more than 590 households and more than 2200 people in the village, 85% of whom are surnamed Yang, the descendants of Yang Zaisi, the Marquis of Weiyuan in the Southern Song Dynasty.

Location traffic

Gaoyigu village is located on the Wushui River in gaoyigu Township, Huitong County, Hunan Province. It was once a land and water transportation hub and a must pass on the historic road of smoky earth. The roads connecting every household, village and village crisscross like a network, like a maze. People in the village usually only walk several main roads, many of which are connected with each other, but no one dares to walk. Even the elderly people in the village may not know whose house each path leads to. Even our own people can't figure out where the road goes. Due to the complex terrain, the village has never been harassed by bandits and robbers for hundreds of years.

Overall layout

On the whole, the ancestors of Gaoyi ancient village integrated the beautiful ecological environment with philosophical planning and layout. The ancient village takes Wutong temple as the center, and each building faces south. It is similar in appearance and is arranged in plum blossom shape. The roadway and closed courtyard are in eight trigrams array, which divides the village into five natural villages. There are 104 ancient civilian buildings in the village from the 13th year of Hongwu in Ming Dynasty to the 7th year of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty, with a total construction area of nearly 20000 square meters. It is a large-scale and well preserved ancient folk architecture village of Ming and Qing Dynasties discovered in Hunan Province so far. It is known as "the first village in Jiangnan" and "Folk Museum" by experts. No matter from the geographical distribution of ancient residential building communities or the morphological characteristics of buildings, as well as the relationship between the internal structure and the surrounding landscape, topography and water system, Gaoyi ancient village is full of humanistic characteristics.

Cultural details

Gaoyi culture is rich in ancient architecture culture, Dong culture, folk culture, wunuo culture, religious culture and farming culture. "Qingbai hall" and "zuiyue building" used to be the gathering and entertainment places for the literati. Since ancient times, they have a strong cultural atmosphere of farming and reading. The school hall, ancestral hall, school hall, pavilion, earth temple and other public buildings have been preserved to this day. Each room of the high chair is a wordless book, reposing the values and life vision of the ancients. In a house built in the reign of Daoguang, there is a very exquisitely carved shrine with exquisite workmanship and beautiful carving style. The carved images of flowers, birds, monkeys and so on are more profound, with the meaning of "magpies make plum blossom" and "Marquis worship". In order to carry forward their ancestors' virtues, Gao Yiren hung the plaques of "guanximendi", "innocent family", "qingbaitang" and "gengdu family" on the lintel of the door, and used them as court instructions to warn future generations to "be a pure man and an official". The oldest brick inscribed in the village is from the 13th year of Hongwu in Ming Dynasty, which has a history of more than 600 years. According to statistics, in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there were 293 civil and military talents in Gaoyi village. In the period of the Republic of China, there were 10 college students in Huitong County, four of whom were from Gaoyi village. Since the reform and opening up, there have been more than 180 graduates from various universities and technical secondary schools in the village.

Folk customs

Like many ancient villages, the original residents of Gaoyi still live a peaceful life here. The folk customs here are simple and simple, and many traditional customs have been handed down to this day. It has the reputation of "Folk Museum" and "farming and reading culture". Here you can enjoy the folk song and dance performances, taste the food of Dong farmers, live in the wooden buildings of Dong village and experience the life of Dong people. Through the village, from time to time, there are original residents carrying their shoulders through the green brick alley, and the shoulder pole is creaking under the heavy load of goods. Walking under the eaves of a house, the old woman was drying her smoked bacon in the sun, and the dark oil was gushing out under the balcony. The details of the village's ancestors' life are not only handed down from generation to generation, but also reflected in the housing construction, forming a landscape. There is a couplet on the window of the wooden house of the former rich family: three thousand pearls and shoes in front of the hall, twelve lines of gold hairpin in the room. Today, people can vaguely see the style and gallantry of the wedding at that time. This couplet was written on paper and pasted on the window at that time. After 100 years of wind erosion, the paper has naturally fallen off, but the ink has penetrated into the wood, and the handwriting is still clear.

Cultural relic value

Gaoyi ancient village is a large-scale and well preserved ancient folk architecture village of Ming and Qing Dynasties discovered in Hunan Province. It is known as "the first village in Jiangnan" and "Folk Museum" by experts. In May 2002, it was officially approved as a key cultural relics protection unit in Hunan Province. In June 2005, it was listed as the Sixth Batch of key cultural relics protection units in China and a famous historical and cultural village in the whole province. It has a high value of tourism development. The ancient village now has 104 ancient civilian buildings from Hongwu 13 of Ming Dynasty to Guangxu 7 of Qing Dynasty (1380-1881), with a total construction area of 19416 square meters. At present, there are 594 households and 2205 people in the ancient village, 85% of them are Dong people with the surname of Yang. He is a descendant of Yang Zaisi, the Marquis of Weiyuan in the Southern Song Dynasty. It is a "Pearl" of ancient village tourism.

Characteristics of folk houses

Ma Tau wallwatts

The ancient village building is a two-story building with wooden bucket structure, surrounded by high horse head wall, forming a relatively closed courtyard, locally known as the cellar house. This kind of building is enclosed by high walls and only has small windows. It has the special functions of wind proof, fire prevention and anti-theft. In the past 100 years, there has not been a fire in Gaoyi village that has affected its neighbors.

a richly ornamented building

Similar to Zhangguying village, every family in Gaoyi ancient village is connected. This is a typical French style of Jiangnan construction in the Ming Dynasty. The customs of Dong Township add a national feature. By looking at the colorful paintings above the wall, or big birds and beasts, or song Ju Mei Lan, we can see whether the owner was a military general or a scholar or a farmer. Most of the buildings are decorated with murals and wall paintings. The doors and windows are of different patterns, such as dragon, Phoenix, flowers and birds, and figures. They are ingenious and skillful. There are still many works of art, such as Danqing ink treasures, stone carvings, stone tablets, and engravings. The wooden buildings in the courtyard are decorated with exquisite carvings on the doors and windows. Plaques are hung in front of many courtyards and main rooms, murals are painted on the walls, and Ming and Qing furniture can be seen at any time.

Red and black fish pond

The ancient village buildings have their own characteristics in fire prevention and moisture-proof. The foundation is built with small bluestone, which is 60 cm above the ground. There are deep drainage ditches. There are sewers and reservoirs in densely populated areas. The red and black fish pond was excavated in the late Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty. Zuotang is used to raise ornamental fish, so it is called hongyutang. Youtang is used to feed food fish, so it is called black fish pond. The two ponds are connected with the drainage system in the village, which is a reservoir of the village drainage system. Although the whole village is mainly made of wooden buildings, due to the closed high walls, vertical and horizontal sewers, high chairs can prevent fire and moisture, making these ancient buildings of Ming and Qing Dynasties immortal for more than 600 years.

Anti theft cylinder

The house where the anti-theft monitor cylinder is located is built in the early Ming Dynasty. The original owner is one of the richest people in the area. To prevent theft, there is a cylinder buried in the kitchen. The diameter of the cylinder mouth is 60 cm and the depth is 55 cm. The cylinder mouth is flat with the ground. It is usually covered with wood and covered by a cupboard. It is not easy to be found. When it is needed, remove the wooden cover, and you can hear the footsteps 50 meters away. According to research, the device is the earliest monitor device in China.

Tourism information

natural scene

From a distance, Gaoyi village is surrounded by green tiles, wind and fire walls, and clear streams. The deep and quiet feeling of Gaoyi village is already in my mind. Like a jar of old wine, it exudes attractive fragrance. These natural landscapes and folk customs may disappear once they are developed. Because, on the one hand, the fragile ecological environment can not withstand the patronage of a large number of tourists, on the other hand, the development of local tourism economy expects resources to bring direct return on investment.

Surrounding landscape

It is said that Wushui river at the entrance of Gaoyi village is where Zhuge Liang's footprints went during the Three Kingdoms period. There is an ancient well named Zhuge well in Gaoyi village. It is said that it was dug by Zhuge Liang's soldiers during his march. There are still knife marks on the stones at the mouth of the well. Mengying mountain across the river is the place where Menghuo camped. Zhuge Liang captured Meng Huo seven times and left a lot of sites and stories on the Bank of Wushui. The natural scenery around Gaoyi ancient village is also great. The nearby Yingzuijie nature reserve is known as xiaozhangjiajie in Hunan Province. Close to Huitong County, there is the former residence of Su Yu, the first general of the Republic, which is worth visiting.

Travel card

Local specialties such as Tanluo, Heyu, orange, dried bamboo shoots, Jinqiu pear, gaoyiheifan, hongpo Gongmi, Huotang bacon, Shaxi chili sauce, as well as Gastrodia elata, embroidery, Nuo mask and bamboo weavers

Chinese PinYin : Gao Yi Gu Cun