WildChina was thrilled to read “In Anhui, China, Centuries-Old Charm,” a travel article featured in The New York Times. Since 2001, WildChina has been sending family trips and sponsoring museum travel to Anhui as it remains a destination where the unassuming ancient stone villages of China’s central plains make you feel like you are stepping back in time. As Justin Bergman, the author of the article, confirms, “Two reasons these villages — about 20 of which are worth visiting, spread across the southern part of Anhui, an area roughly the size of Belgium — have retained their centuries-old charm are location and economics: they are set deep in the countryside of one of China’s poorer provinces, where residents have lacked the resources to tear down the old and start anew.” We at WildChina could not agree more.
Our WildChina journey travels through southern Anhui, China, and is called China’s Living Heritage: Exploring the Ancient Villages of Yellow Mountain, brings guests to many of the sites and hotels that Bergman describes in Xidi and Bishan. In Xidi, WildChina has been sending clients for years to The Pig’s Inn, a hotel that brings visitors back to a traditional Hui style architecture and design. In addition to the charming service and fantastic location, we must mention their hotel restaurant, which is a great place to try traditional Anhui food, including dishes like their greens with tofu and sweet potato noodles. After dinner, you can head up to the peaceful outdoor viewing area and look over the grey tiled roofs of the town.
Nearby the Pig’s Inn, the misty peaks of Yellow Mountain (Huangshan) have inspired Chinese artists for generations. Yellow Mountain, as well as the rest of the area’s majestic geography is a sharp contrast to the now humble ancient Anhui villages that were once so prosperous. On a WildChina journey, our travelers are given the option of three methods of ascending the mountain, two of which are significantly less touristy and off-the-beaten path.
Not too far away from Xidi, WildChina also takes our travelers to Wanan Village, the famed as the birthplace of the fengshui compass, used to determine the auspicious placement of furniture, houses, and even entire villages. Wanan’s most attractive feature is the over one-mile (approx. 2 km) traditional main street. Explore the main street and learn more about fengshui from our WildChina guide.
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To learn more about WildChina’s Anhui Journey, please click here to view the itinerary or contact us at info@wildchina.com. For other winter travel destinations, we welcome you to read one of our more recent blogs, Ideas for a winter holiday in China.
Source: The New York Times, Photo by Life on Nanchang Lu
