Historic site · ANHUI · UNESCO
Xidi Ancient Village
西递 · Xīdì
About
UNESCO-listed Hu-clan village (founded 1047), the canonical 'Anhui-style' merchant village with archway lanes, white-walled grey-tile houses and carved-stone doors.
Xidi Ancient Village was founded in 1047 CE by the Hu clan, descendants of a Tang imperial prince, who settled in the Huizhou region of southern Anhui and over the following centuries built a merchant trading network extending across China. The prosperity generated by this trading — primarily in salt, timber, and tea from the Huizhou mountains — was reinvested in architecture back home, producing the village form now collectively called Hui-style: white-rendered walls, grey tile rooflines with upswept horse-head gables, and elaborately carved stone gates, wooden screens, and brick relief panels applied to every surface accessible to decoration.
Xidi today retains 124 surviving residential buildings and three ancestral halls from the Ming and Qing dynasties, the largest coherent surviving ensemble of this architectural tradition. The village plan is relatively compact — the main lanes are navigable in two to three hours — but the density of carved ornament rewards extended attention. The three principal decorative elements — 'three carving arts' (sandiao) — are stone carving on the gate frames and courtyard thresholds, wood carving on the interior screen walls, beams, and window grilles, and brick carving applied to the courtyard walls and gateway surrounds. The quality and complexity of the work reflects how much the Huizhou merchants invested in demonstrating refinement; the buildings are a form of cultural capital as much as private housing.
The entry gate for the village features the formal Triple Memorial Archway (Hu Wenguang Paifang, 1578) — an ornamental stone gateway erected in honour of a distinguished Hu-clan official, with three bays and five rooftiers of carved stone. UNESCO listed Xidi in 2000 jointly with neighbouring Hongcun as representatives of the Hui-style village tradition. Combining both villages — they are 14 kilometres apart — is the standard itinerary from the Huangshan/Tunxi base.
How to get there
Bus from Huangshan/Tunxi (1 hour).
When to visit
Weekday morning. Combine with Hongcun.
UNESCO inscription
“The two traditional villages of Xidi and Hongcun preserve to a remarkable extent the appearance of non-urban settlements of a type that largely disappeared or was transformed during the last century. Their street plan, their architecture and decoration, and the integration of houses with comprehensive water systems are unique surviving examples.”
Other attractions in Huangshan / Yellow Mountain region
Itineraries featuring this site
- Hiking China's national parks — Zhangjiajie, Huangshan and Jiuzhaigou, 14 days
14d · Fourteen days across three of China's most dramatic mountain and forest parks — the sandstone columns of Zhangjiajie, the granite peaks and sea of cloud at Huangshan, and the turquoise lakes of Jiuzhaigou.
- Off the beaten path — two weeks (Pingyao, Datong, Hongcun)
14d · Walled towns, cliff temples, southern villages — China away from the tour-bus routes.
Other historic sites in China
- Ancient Villages of Southern Anhui — Xidi and Hongcun皖南古村落—西递、宏村
UNESCO · UNESCO-listed pair of Ming-Qing Huizhou merchant villages in southern Anhui, renowned for whitewashed walls, inky horsehead gables and moon-shaped ponds.
- Anqing Zhenfeng Pagoda安庆振风塔
A seven-storey Ming Dynasty pagoda standing on the bank of the Yangtze River in Anqing, considered one of the finest riverside pagodas in southern China and long used as a navigation landmark by Yangtze river pilots.
- Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City良渚古城遗址
UNESCO · UNESCO-listed archaeological site in Hangzhou preserving the remains of a 5,000-year-old city with a sophisticated water-management system, jade ritual culture and social hierarchy — regarded as one of the earliest state-level societies in East Asia.
- Capital Cities and Tombs of the Ancient Koguryo Kingdom高句丽王城、王陵及贵族墓葬
UNESCO · UNESCO-listed capital cities and royal tombs of the Koguryo Kingdom in Jian, Jilin — the Chinese portion of a transnational heritage property shared with North Korea, representing one of the most powerful states of ancient East Asia.
- Classical Gardens of Suzhou (UNESCO)苏州古典园林
UNESCO · UNESCO-listed collection of private gardens in Suzhou — four inscribed in 1997 and five more added in 2000 — representing the pinnacle of Chinese garden design through the refined integration of architecture, water, rock and plant.
- Danba Tibetan Watchtowers丹巴碉楼
Clusters of ancient stone watchtowers rising above Tibetan village complexes in the Dadu River valley, said to be among the oldest surviving examples of Tibetan defensive architecture.
- Drum Tower and Bell Tower鼓楼钟楼
Yuan-dynasty drum and bell towers that kept official time for imperial Beijing. Climbable; daily drum performances.
- Dujiangyan Irrigation System都江堰
UNESCO · 2,300-year-old irrigation system on the Min River. Still in use. UNESCO-listed jointly with Mt Qingcheng. Engineering rather than architecture, but one of the great works.
Other UNESCO World Heritage sites in China
- Ancient Villages of Southern Anhui — Xidi and Hongcun皖南古村落—西递、宏村
UNESCO-listed pair of Ming-Qing Huizhou merchant villages in southern Anhui, renowned for whitewashed walls, inky horsehead gables and moon-shaped ponds.
- Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City良渚古城遗址
UNESCO-listed archaeological site in Hangzhou preserving the remains of a 5,000-year-old city with a sophisticated water-management system, jade ritual culture and social hierarchy — regarded as one of the earliest state-level societies in East Asia.
- Badain Jaran Desert — Lakes and Dunes巴丹吉林沙漠—沙山湖泊群
UNESCO Natural World Heritage site in Inner Mongolia — the third largest desert in China, featuring some of the world's tallest stationary dunes and a unique network of freshwater and saline lakes sustained by a still-unexplained subterranean water system.
- Capital Cities and Tombs of the Ancient Koguryo Kingdom高句丽王城、王陵及贵族墓葬
UNESCO-listed capital cities and royal tombs of the Koguryo Kingdom in Jian, Jilin — the Chinese portion of a transnational heritage property shared with North Korea, representing one of the most powerful states of ancient East Asia.
- China Danxia中国丹霞
UNESCO Natural World Heritage site — a serial property of six Danxia landscapes across six provinces, representing China's defining red-cliff-and-pillar sandstone landform type, including Danxia Mountain, Zhangye, Taining and Langshan.
- Classical Gardens of Suzhou (UNESCO)苏州古典园林
UNESCO-listed collection of private gardens in Suzhou — four inscribed in 1997 and five more added in 2000 — representing the pinnacle of Chinese garden design through the refined integration of architecture, water, rock and plant.
- Couple's Retreat Garden耦园
UNESCO-listed Suzhou garden organised symmetrically around a central residence. Less crowded than the four most-visited gardens.
- Drepung Monastery哲蚌寺
Once the largest monastery in the world (10,000+ monks). 8 km west of Lhasa. Active Gelugpa monastery; debating courtyard sessions in the afternoon.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does Xidi Ancient Village cost to visit?
- Adult entry to Xidi Ancient Village is ¥104, ¥52 for children.
- When is Xidi Ancient Village open?
- Xidi Ancient Village opening hours: 7:30am–5:30pm.
- How long do you need at Xidi Ancient Village?
- Allow 2–3 hours for Xidi Ancient Village. Add buffer time if you plan to visit at peak season or include nearby sights in the same trip.
- When is the best time to visit Xidi Ancient Village?
- Weekday morning. Combine with Hongcun.
- How do you get to Xidi Ancient Village?
- Bus from Huangshan/Tunxi (1 hour).
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