Tanxia Ancient Village in Linwu, Hunan

In the 9th year of Chunxi period of Southern Song Dynasty (1182 AD), to escape the chaos of Jin and Yuan dynasties, Shi Tan (the founding ancestor of Tanxia) - a descendant of Wen Yanbo (a famous Northern Song statesman granted the title Duke of Lu) - arrived here with his wife Wu. Seeing fertile fields in front, inner/middle/outer ponds behind, and a babbling stream flowing from southeast to northwest, they deemed it an auspicious feng shui site. Following ancestral instruction to "settle where streams meet", they named it "Tanxi" (Pool Stream) and established their lineage here. The village terrain forms a "smiling face" shape with slightly higher sides and flat center. As Shi Tan came south from Jiangxi, it's also called "Tanxia" (Below Tan). The village preserves over 100 Ming-Qing era structures, including more than 20 ancestral halls. Beyond the main "Wen Clan Ancestral Hall", the scale and quantity of branch lineage halls from Ming-Qing periods are exceptionally rare in southern Hunan, making this Tanxia's most distinctive feature. Walking through the village, antique charm envelops visitors, evoking historical gravitas and nostalgia. Blue bricks, dark tiles, slate paths, lattice windows, wood carvings, and horse-head walls compose an ink-wash painting - simple yet elegant. Formerly, the stone-paved roads crisscrossed the entire village; though some are now cement-covered, the remaining sections remain awe-inspiring. Centuries of footsteps and weathering have polished the slate stones to a luminous, dust-free sheen. Winding through alleys, paths alternate between secluded curves and sudden openness. Treading these time-worn stones, one glimpses ancestors toiling - each slab crystallizing their diligence and wisdom, each bearing witness to bygone prosperity and temporal changes. Designated among China's fifth batch of Traditional Villages.