Confirmed【Oct 4/7】Cuandixia Ancient Village&Lingshui Village

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In addition to busy streets and high-rises, Beijing is also home to a number of ancient villages. Providing refreshing respites from the hustle of city life, these villages also allow visitors to enjoy the beautiful natural landscape of the Beijing area, and get a taste of local folk culture. 

Do you want to visit traditional cottages of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368 - 1911) in a suburb of Beijing? If so, we recommend you follow this 1-day independent Beijing tour to the Cuandixia Ancient Village and Shuiling Village located to the northwest of downtown area to seek some clues of the history.

ITINERARY

>>>October 4/7th<<<

Meet your trip mates and start your day trip. 

We will pick you up at the meeting points in the morning according to the schedule(refer to basic content below). 

It’s around 2.5 hours driving to Cuandixia village.

Cuandixia Village

Nestled in a valley 90km west of Beijing and overlooked by towering peaks, the Ming dynasty village of Cuandixia (爨底下, Cuàndǐxia) is a gorgeous cluster of historic courtyard homes with old-world charm. An important feature of the village is its historic buildings from the Ming and Qing dynasties, including several homes with courtyards from the Ming and Qing Dynasties.These well-preserved old courtyards with exquisite decorations are highlights of this Cuandixia Village tour.

You can tour all of the historic buildings in the village, such as stately homes of the wealthy, Wudao Temple, and Guandi Temple. You can alsohave  a walk in the hills near the village if you have time.

Moreover, experience the lunch ( Own expense ) in the Local Family restaurant, you will enjoy an authentic countryside style food .

Lingshui Village

After that, we will visit Lingshui Village,which is in Mentougou District of Beijing is a village full of historical sense. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, many people in the village became provincial graduates, so it was also called “the Provincial Graduate Village". There are a number of ancient dwellings, and even a well-preserved "Provincial Graduate's House" along the streets. 

Another highlight of the village are the tall and austere-looking cypresses, which have for centuries witnessed the village’s ups and downs. 

Return time：late afternoon

Your driver will drop off you at the meeting points in Beijing.

BASIC CONTENT

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Before leaving, one can buy souvenirs or local specialty. Here are some popular ones.

Souvenirs: Mini tile, lanterns, paper cut, tile carving, wood carving.

Local Specialties: walnut, almond, camellia tea, honey, dried fruits.

Recommended Sights

Main Street in the Village

Its main street is in a south-north position. It will take you about 15 minutes to walk slowly from one end to the other. The rustic scenery on the way is excellent. There are many bystreets with distinctive scenes for you to explore.

Guandi Temple

The Guandi Temple is on the east mountain slope. You need to climb up there via a mountain path, but it is not very high, so young people can reach it very easily.

The first quality location for shooting the panorama of the village is halfway up the mountain.

Temple of the Goddess of Fertility

The Temple of the Goddess of Fertility is on the south-east mountain slope. It is said that the goddess in the temple is in charge of fertility and blessedness.

Temple of the Dragon King Subduing Demons

The Temple of the Dragon King Subduing Demons is situated halfway up the east mountain. It is the temple of the highest class of construction in the village.

This temple was originally called "Temple of the Dragon King". It was built in the 54th year of the Kangxi period (1715 AD) in the Qing Dynasty. It was the place for villagers to pray for rain and to worship heaven. There is also a Guandi Temple inside this temple.

According to the villagers, the reason why Guandi is enshrined in this temple is because Cuandixia Village, which is near Beijing's Ancient Road to the west, was once commercially developed, so the statue of the God of Fortune, Guandi, was placed in the temple by the people, hoping that he could bring wealth and treasure, shelter the merchants and help the people to gain a profit.

Since then, the Temple of the Dragon King has been renamed as the "Temple of the Dragon King Subduing Demons". Villagers there hold the ritual of worshipping the Dragon King on June 22nd in the lunar calendar every year.

Viewing Platform

The viewing platform is on the south mountain. Standing there, you can overlook the entire village.

Situated in Zhaitang Town, Mentougou District, Cuandixia Village is about 56 miles (90 km) west of downtown Beijing. Traditional dwelling complexes, colorful historical relics, and unique folk customs characterize this ancient village, surrounded by mountainous landscape.

This village used to be a traffic artery for access to Shanxi Province from Beijing in ancient times. As it is far from the downtown, it has not been touched by modern constructions yet. Therefore, when you walk on the old pavements and view the traditional layout with hillside courtyards, the old Beijing people's life will come into your mind. 

Besides, there are also ancient temples where local people pray for prosperity, health, and peace, and traits of the Second World War remained in the village such as ruins of local people's residences and sites of outposts during the war.

History

Cuandixia Village has a history of more than 400 years. In 1515 (the Ming period), an important military pass, Cuanlikou, was built in the Cuandixia Village area.

This pass is situated at the junction of Beijing's Ancient Road to the West (the joint name of various commercial roads, military roads and pilgrimage routes that run through today's Mentougou area) and the Great Wall. It was the first pass for Beijing to defend against north-west enemies.

Through textual research by experts, it is believed that the site of today's Cuandixia Village was the location of the wall of Cuanlikou of the Ming Dynasty, and the folk houses were the government offices and barracks of the troops stationed there.

The prosperity of this village was due to the ancient post road constructed in the 14th year of the Zhengde period (1519 AD) in the Ming Dynasty. This road was once the only road leading to Hebei, Shanxi and Inner Mongolia. It was an important military road then.

By the Qing Dynasty, the stability in the northern areas made the village become unimportant militarily. The post road turned into a business travel route between Beijing and the north-west regions, and the village was a stopover place on the road for travelling merchants.

In the Kangxi and Qianlong periods, commerce in this village reached its peak. At that time, there were eight business stores, and three to four inns with sheds for carts and animals.

After the establishment of the PRC, National Highway 109 opened (Beijing to the north-west: a road connecting Beijing, Heibei, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia and other regions). Cuandixia Village lost its role as a commodity distribution center and an inn on the post road, and became a small, predominantly agricultural village.

Name Origins

The name of this village – ‘Cuandixia’ – translates roughly as ‘Below the cooking-stove’, which could be interpreted as meaning a good safe spot that’s hard to find. You’ll also find it on maps as ‘Chuandixia,’ as the character for Chuan (川) is much less complicated than that of Cuan (爨).

Village Layout

The village was built following the terrain of Longtou Mountain slopes, and is 'sycee' shaped from a bird's eye view. From the top point of the mountain range, the courtyards were arranged in a radial direction down to the foot. Flat ground was very limited, all the houses are crammed in anywhere, and everywhere possible. People took full advantage of every strip of mountain land to build their dwellings so that more land would be given for farming. Those times were ones of post-war famine.

Lingshui Village in Mengtougou District of Beijing, is about 80 kilometers ( 50 miles) or 2 hours’ driving to the northwest of downtown. It is an ancient village full of tradtional rural residences built in the Ming (1368 - 1644 AD) and Qing (1644 - 1911 AD) dynasties, historical temples and precious ancient trees. During the prevalence of the Chinese imperial examination system, many villagers gained a pass in the exam. They were then known as “Ju Ren”, the title awarded to a successful candidate at the provincial level. Therefore, Lingshui Village is also called “Ju Ren Village”.

Top Eight Scenes in Lingshui Village

Dongling Stone Man

On a mountain near Lingshui Village a tall stone man overlooks the village. One of his hand is raised, as though he is a teacher engaged in writing. The villagers say that it is related to the emergence of Ju Ren in the Village.

Lotus Hill

This is to the west of the village and also called Dushan, which literally means Lonely Hill. Seen from outside the village, it stands alone, resembling a blooming lotus flower. The top of the mountain is covered with greenery and the scenery is very beautiful.

Turtle-shaped Village Layout

The layout of Lingshui Village is shaped like a giant turtle; with the head to the south and the  tail to the north. Three east-west alleys and south-west hutongs form the textures on its back. The Southern Hill is the best view point from which to observe this special layout.

Cypress on Northern Hill

There is a hill in the north of Lingshui Village. A thousand-year-old cypress stands on the hill and resembles a large lucid ganoderma [tree fungus]. There are no other trees around it, so it appears as if it is enjoying the spirit of Heaven and Earth.

Elm and Mulberry Growing in Cypress

Two thousand-year-old cypresses grow in the village’s South China Sea Fire Dragon King Temple. Each has grown multiple trunks. One has a large elm growing between them; while the other has a mulberry and an artemisia between its trunks. Together they present a very strange and rare sight.

Ginkgo in Lingquan Temple

In the courtyard of the Lingquan Temple, there are two tall ginkgo trees that are several hundred years old. These trees were originally male, but strangely, the ginkgo on the west side has a female branch fruiting every year.

Ju Rens’ Houses

Lingshui Village has a number of Ju Rens’ houses. Most of these houses have high steps, large gates, large halls, carved beams, thick walls, simple but exquisite bricks, and floral decorations. The architectural style is literary and elegant and is a vital part of the eight scenes.

Temple Ruins

There are seventeen temple sites of Buddhist, Confucian, Taoist and other folk beliefs. Although with the passage of time, most of the temples in Lingshui Village have gone, the existing ruins of Lingquan Temple, Nanhai Fire Dragon Temple, and Temple of Immortals still cause people look back to the past, and experience the lively smoky atmosphere of incense and pilgrims.

👇 For One-day Tour

👇 For Long-term activities for two days or more

Please let us know immediately if your plans change!

Due to the particularity of some tourist resources which need to be booked in advance and cause actual losses, the specific losses include but are not limited to train tickets, air tickets, hotels, etc. If tourists need to cancel their orders, they should contact FCN in time to assist tourists in reducing losses and refund other losses that have not actually occurred in accordance with the principle of refund. 

In the rare event that FCN cancels a trip, or we are unable to serve you, all fees are immediately refunded, including the deposit.