Good morning, Ladies and gentleman. Welcome to Huangshan city. First, I’d like to introduce myself. My name is XXX . During your stay here, I’ll be your local guide. It’s my honor to be of your service. I’ll try my best to make your stay comfortable.
An old Chinese saying goes that there will be no town if there is no Huizhou-style building and there will be no business if there is no merchant from Yixian County. Obviously, the Yixian fellows have played an important role in the Huizhou business sector. The successful merchants and high-rank officials gathered enough power and wealth. They came back to build their houses to show their respect for their ancestors and show off their wealth and position. But thestrict hierarchy of society was also shown in the construction of household. At that time, only the emperor has the right to build the grandeur building as seen in the Forbidden City. So the merchants could only choose the best materials and plan most sophisticated workmanship to show off their wealth and position. In Xidi village, you can see many examples of fine stone carving, wood carving, bamboo carving and brick carving in doors and windows. Ok, here we are. Let’s get off the bus and bring your camera. The first sight that comes to us is a high archway---- the Archway of Hu Wenguang, the only survival of nine archways from the Cultural Revolution. This archway was built in the Ming Dynasty to reward Hu’s devoted service and efforts for the public interest. Hu Wenguan, once being a high-ranking official like the governor of our province, was a native of this village. This archway is a fine example of stone carvings. Now we shall go to the second stop---Hongcun village, about half an hour’s bus ride from here. Compared with Xidi village, Hongcun village is more primitive, not so commercial. Because the place is full of beautiful scenery, Hongcun Village has always enjoyed the name "a village in the Chinese painting". Now can I ask you a question? Have you enjoyed the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon? Some of the scenes are shot in this village.
