Tales of a Phototrotter

Cheng Kan Village

A quick blurb:

Chengkan Village was formerly named Longxi Village. It was first built in East Han Dynasty. Up to now, it has a history of more than 1800 years. Chengkan village has a great reputation – “the best village in Jiangnan area”. The location and architecture style depend exactly on the theory of “the Eight Diagrams” and “Feng Shui”. Chengkan village has three streets and ninety-nine lanes, just like a maze, with hills and rivers surrounding it. The ancient river – Longxi River is like a jade belt going across Chengkan village. The eight mountains surrounding the village are like eight directions of “the Eight Diagrams”. The exquisite layout of Chengkan village is a wonder among the village architectures in China. - China Odyssey

We were told to head to this village under recommendation by Steve, owner of the Ying Qing Youth Hostel, who had emphasised the significance and sheer architectural brilliance of this village as opposed to the tourist-heavy Xidi or Hongcun Villages. This it did not disappoint.

However, there is a great shame with the tourism here being largely undeveloped and so if you did not speak or understand Chinese, there would be no way of being able to hire a tour guide to explain the significance of this place. Yet, that’s what makes this place so serene and amazing to walk around in. No touts, no sellers and absolutely no one to bug you. Just the rest of the day to explore the village still functioning as it did 1800 years ago, right where it can trace its roots back towards.