Chengkan Village 呈坎

Chengkan Village lies in Huizhou District, Huangshan, about 40 kilometres from Huangshan Mountain. It is an ancient settlement with a recorded history of more than 1,800 years. Its name and plan are tied to the I Ching: the village was laid out according to the Eight Diagrams, with three main streets and ninety-nine lanes threading between hills and the Longxi River. Seen from above it can feel like a maze, and the arrangement is understood to bring vitality and good fortune to the community.

What visitors encounter is a remarkably intact Hui-style village. White walls and grey tiles, green hills and clear streams frame a rural settlement of more than 700 households. Compared with better-known Xidi and Hongcun, Chengkan is quieter and less developed, with fewer tourists and a stronger idyllic atmosphere. Its architecture includes pavilions, houses, bridges, wells and ancestral temples, along with fine stone, brick and wood carvings. The ancestral temple is especially notable; Baolun Hall shows refined craftsmanship through carved bluestone parapets and coloured paintings on beams, lintels and doorframes. The village is also recognised as a national 5A scenic area within the Ancient Huizhou Cultural Tourism Area, and has been praised by Zhu Xi as a leading village in Jiangnan and by Liu Haisu as a place not to miss when visiting Huangshan.

Don't miss

• The maze-like layout of three streets and ninety-nine lanes
• Baolun Hall in the ancestral temple, with carvings and painted beams
• Hui-style houses with white walls, grey tiles and fine carvings
• Longxi River and the village's mountain-and-water setting
• Quiet rural lanes and the idyllic atmosphere

Visiting tips

The lanes form a maze, so a guide at the entrance can help you find key buildings; agree on language and price first. A viewpoint near the main entrance gives a village panorama, and April brings rapeseed flowers.