Hongcun

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Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui - Xidi and **Hongcun**¹
**UNESCO World Heritage Site**

State Party	China
Type	Cultural
Criteria	iii, iv, v
Identification	#1002
Region²	Asia-Pacific
Inscription History
Formal Inscription:	2000 24th WH Committee Session
WH link:	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1002
1 Name as officially inscribed on the WH List 2 As classified officially by UNESCO

Hongcun (宏村, pinyin: Hóngcūn) is a village in Yixian county, Anhui province (Yixian County), located near the southwest slope of Mount Huangshan, in China.

The village is arranged in the shape of an ox: a nearby hill (Leigang Hill) is interpreted as the head and two trees standing on it mark the horns. Four bridges across the Jiyin stream can be seen as the legs and the houses of the village form the body. Inside the "body", the Jiyin stream can be seen as the intestines and the lakes - such as the "South Lake" (Nanhu) - as the stomachs.

The architecture and carvings of the ca. 150 residences dating back to the Ming and Qing Dynasties are said to be among the best of its kind in China. One of the biggest of the residences open to visitors, Chenzhi Hall, also contains a small residence museum.

Together with Xidi it was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000. Hongcun also was a location at which the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was shot. Since then, tourism has dramatically increased.