Zhaji Village: China’s Largest Ming-Qing Village of Three Streams and Forty Bridges

Zhaji Village (查济) lies in Taohuatan Town, Jingxian County, Xuancheng City, Anhui Province: a valley settlement in the hills south of the Yangtze where three streams run between whitewashed walls and more than forty stone bridges. It is the largest surviving Ming-Qing village complex in China, and unlike the polished villages on the tourist circuit, most of it is still simply lived in.

This walk starts on the approach road outside the village and moves inward: past the first shops and bridges, into the stone-slab lanes, along the streams, and finally into the quieter inner quarters where the old halls stand.

On-Site Video Record

The film below is a continuous first-person walk through Zhaji, from the outer edge of the village towards its core. Straight location sound, nothing added.

If the embed fails, the original is on YouTube.

Location and Transport

Zhaji belongs to Jingxian County in southern Anhui, roughly 60 kilometers west of Jingxian county town and about 20 kilometers from Taohuatan (Peach Blossom Pool).

By high-speed rail: Jingxian Station is the nearest stop. From the station, a taxi takes about 50-60 minutes (around CNY 120); local buses to Zhaji cost about CNY 10-11 and take 1-1.5 hours, but the last departure is early (around 16:30), so plan the return trip first.

By car: from Hangzhou, Nanjing or Shanghai the drive is roughly 3-4 hours via the G50 expressway, leaving at the Jingxian exit and continuing on county roads. Parking is available at the scenic area entrance for about CNY 10 per day.

The village itself is entered on foot. Ticket checks apply at the main entrances and at a few of the halls.

Three Streams, Forty Bridges

Zhaji is organized around water. Three streams, Xu Xi, Cen Xi and Shi Xi, run through the village and join near its center, and the lanes follow them. Stone bridges cross at short intervals: more than forty survive, ranging from plain single-slab footbridges to arched bridges with pavilions.

The best known is Honglou Bridge, built in the Ming dynasty, with the Honglou Pavilion standing beside it, a bridge-and-pavilion pairing that is rare elsewhere. At the western end of the village, Linzhi Bridge is worn smooth by centuries of footsteps.

Because the streams dictate the plan, Zhaji has no single main street. Lanes branch, bend and dead-end, and walking it feels closer to a maze than to a linear village street. Turn twice and you lose your bearings, which is part of the experience.

Village History

Zhaji was founded during the Sui-Tang period and grew prosperous in the Ming and Qing dynasties, when the Zha clan dominated the valley. At its height the village supported a dense population of merchants, scholars and craftsmen, and the building campaign of that era is what survives today.

In 2001 the Zhaji ancient building complex was listed as a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit (fifth batch), and the village is also designated a Chinese Historical and Cultural Village. The core protected area covers about 49 hectares.

Halls, Houses and Carved Details

Official county records count more than 140 historic buildings, including some 40 bridges, 30 ancestral halls and four temples, with construction dates running from the Yuan dynasty to the late Qing.

A few buildings anchor the walk:

• Erjia Ci (二甲祠): the largest ancestral hall in the village, built in the early Qing, with brick, wood and stone carving across its gates and walls.
• Baogong Ci (宝公祠): rebuilt in the Tongzhi era, standing on the eastern stretch of Xu Xi.
• Degong Tingwu (德公厅屋): the oldest structure in the village, a Yuan-dynasty hall with an archway-style gate and nanmu columns.
• Airi Tang (爱日堂): a Ming residence used as a filming location for the Chinese film “Deserted Inn”; it is not open to visitors, but can be seen from outside.

Between the halls, ordinary houses do most of the work: whitewashed walls stained grey by rain, dark tiled roofs with stepped horse-head gables, wooden lattice windows, and door frames carved with figures and flowers. Many walls are patched, cracked or half-replastered. The village is preserved, not restored to showroom condition.

The Art Village

Zhaji is nicknamed “China’s number one village for sketching”. In spring and autumn, art students arrive in groups and set up easels along the streams; paintings hang drying on walls more often than laundry does. It is one of the reasons the village has kept its atmosphere: tourism grew around looking at the place rather than rebuilding it.

Walking Route: From the Edge to the Core

The route in the film follows the natural approach. It begins on the road outside the village, where the first shops, restaurants and the outermost bridge cluster around the entrance; then it moves onto stone paving and follows a stream inward.

Along the way the walk passes:

• The entrance bridge and its small cluster of shops
• Riverside stone embankments and stepped access to the water
• Narrow lanes between high whitewashed walls
• Pavilions and arched bridges at stream junctions
• The inner quarters around the main halls
• Back lanes where houses are lived in, repaired or quietly empty

Surfaces are almost entirely stone: large flagstones in the main lanes, cobbles on the approach paths, and worn steps at the bridges. The walking is flat and easy compared with hillside villages, a contrast worth noting if you have already walked somewhere like Wancun Village in She County.

Half a day covers the main lanes and a few halls; a full day lets you sit by the water, wait for the light, and wander the back lanes without hurrying.

Is It Worth Visiting

Zhaji is worth it if you want scale and authenticity together: it is big enough to get lost in for hours, and unpolished enough that the visit still feels like a village rather than a set. The trade-off is that the entrance area is commercial (restaurants, guesthouses, souvenir stalls), and the most famous halls are ticketed and sometimes crowded in peak season.

It suits travelers interested in Huizhou architecture, water-and-lane village layouts, sketching and slow photography. It is less suitable if you want a compact, fully restored show village with everything within one street.

Practical Information

Visiting Tips

1. Buy tickets online in advance: slightly cheaper, and it avoids queueing at the gate.
2. Go early. Before 8 am the lanes are quiet and the light on the water is best.
3. The village is long: wear comfortable shoes, and expect uneven stone underfoot.
4. Halls close around 17:00 even though the lanes stay open, so see the interiors first.
5. If relying on the bus back to Jingxian, confirm the last departure (around 16:30) on arrival.
6. Try the local food: stinky mandarin fish (臭鳜鱼), fried hairy tofu (毛豆腐) and bamboo-shoot braised pork.
7. Stay one night if you can: early morning mist over the streams is the reason people come back.

Zhaji pairs naturally with Taohuatan, about 20 kilometers away, and with the Huizhou villages of She County further south. For a quieter, steeper counterpart, see the hillside village of Wancun.

Nearby: Yangchan is an hour south in Shendu township, and the waterfall-and-cliff walk above Zaotai starts in Jinchuan township to the east.

Everything above comes from walking the place myself, plus the county’s public records. Ticket prices, opening hours and bus schedules change, so confirm locally before travelling.