Yanfang Ancient Village

Jishui Yanfang Ancient Village is located in Yanfang Ancient Village, Jintan Town, Jishui County, Jiangxi Province. It is a well-preserved historical and cultural village with Ming and Qing architectural complexes. There are more than 160 Ming and Qing buildings, including ancestral halls, schools, memorial archways, houses, ancient wells, ancient ponds, and ancient tombs. The houses in the ancient village are planned in an orderly manner. All lanes are paved with bluestone slabs, red stone slabs or cobblestones. The houses are painted with gold and phoenixes, and are finely carved and full of calligraphy and paintings. At present, Yanfang Village has more than 140 households and a population of more than 700 people. There are 13 well-preserved ancient memorial archways, more than 100 ancient houses, 2 ancient academies, 1 ancient street, 6 ancient ponds, and more than 10 ancient wells in the village. The village is rich in cultural relics such as Ming and Qing antique furniture and ancient carvings, among which mahogany furniture and Ming and Qing porcelain are particularly precious. The streets in Yanfang Ancient Village are undulating and winding, and the houses are lined up in an orderly manner. Most of the residential buildings are one-story brick and wood houses. The local residential buildings are built according to the surnames, forming a number of building clusters enclosing the courtyards, and the courtyards form the general pattern of the village. There are many memorial archways, each of which is either independent or connected to the courtyard. The doors are all supported by red stone or blue stone, with intaglio couplets on both sides, and carved patterns on both sides of the lintel, mostly of stories of people, auspicious animals, precious flowers and plants, rare birds and animals, the carvings are lifelike, and there are layers of flying eaves and corners on the lintel. The furnishings and carvings in the room are very exquisite. Most of the interiors are carved with dragons and phoenixes, with various themes such as landscapes, figures, flowers, birds, insects, fish, pavilions, etc. The carvings are exquisite and the craftsmanship is sophisticated, integrating human history, geography, architecture and other cultures. 　　There are more than 1,000 ancient camphor trees, citrus orchards, and tea gardens around Yanfang Ancient Village. The whole village is hidden in the green trees and jungles, and the scenery is very pleasant. Yanfang Ancient Village was rated as a provincial historical and cultural village in July 2003, and was rated as a "national historical and cultural village" in 2007.