Yujia Village is called Stone Village, and it really deserves its name. This is a world of stones, where stones are used to their extremes. Walking on stone roads, living in stone houses, sitting on stone benches, and pushing stone grinders. In this basin surrounded by mountains and with excellent geomantic omen, the descendants of Yu Qian, a politician and national hero of the Ming Dynasty, created this legendary place for us.
The whole village has more than 4,000 stone houses, more than 3,700 meters of stone streets, more than 1,000 stone wells and pits, more than 2,000 acres of stone terraces, more than 2,000 stone utensils, and more than 200 stone tablets ( There are still dozens of pieces left), making it a veritable stone village.
More than 95% of the villagers in Yujia Village have the surname Yu, and they are descendants of Yu Qian, a politician and national hero of the Ming Dynasty. When our ancestor Yu Youdao (who was Yu Qian's eldest grandson) moved here, it was still a deep mountain wilderness, "living with trees and rocks, and swimming with deer and pigs". It has a history of more than 500 years. 5% of the people have the surname Kang and a few have his surname, and are close friends of the surname Yu.
The tour guide took us to the Stone Museum. This stone courtyard was once used as the village’s primary school. It now houses a large number of ancient stone tools and natural stone exhibits from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, as well as many ancient farming tools and utensils.
Yujia Village consists of six streets, seven lanes and eighteen alleys. The stone alley is very quiet and it is difficult to see people. There was no noise, and occasionally a few birds flew over the stone alley. The stones on the road in the stone alley have been worn away by people and cars over the years and become shiny with vicissitudes of life.
We walked through several alleys and came to Guanyin Pavilion. To go to Guanyin Pavilion, you need to climb nine high steps. Villagers said that the interior furnishings were rebuilt a few years ago based on the memories of the villagers aged in their 70s and 80s. There are three shrines in the temple, with statues of Guanyin, Manjusri and Boxian. Like many temples, there is an ancient stage opposite Guanyin Pavilion. I think the villagers are afraid that these ancestral gods will be lonely? This was once the center where villagers gathered during festivals and festivals. The villagers enthusiastically told us that going all the way to the east is Qingliang Pavilion. Qingliang Pavilion is the landmark building of Yujiacun. This pavilion was built in 1581 AD and has three floors. It has a simple and rough style. Climbing up the stairs, there is a couplet with white characters on a black background hanging on both sides of the door: "Guests come from far away, and the fragrance stays in Qiong Pavilion." Qingliang Pavilion can be called "strange, special and numerous".
"Strange", generally tall buildings must have a foundation, but Qingliang Pavilion rises from the ground and is built according to the terrain. It has stood tall and majestic in the mountains for more than 440 years. It is really amazing and incredible.
"Special", the architectural style is unique, seems a bit arbitrary and majestic. Qingliang Pavilion is said to resemble the front door of Beijing, but in fact it is only somewhat similar in appearance. Most ancient Chinese buildings are regularly spaced, symmetrical, and orderly. But Qingliang Pavilion takes a different approach and is outstanding. It has a lot of character, let’s take the door of Qingliang Pavilion. It is not like the door of ordinary buildings, which is located in the middle, but opens casually on one side. Its architecture is very similar to the freehand brushwork in Chinese paintings, unrestrained, unrestrained and bold. The architecture of Qingliang Pavilion seems to be more integrated in style with the undulating mountains, stone houses and stone alleys around it, and has unique aesthetic value.
"Many" means there are many temples dedicated to worship. The Jade Emperor Temple on the top floor of Qingliang Pavilion is dedicated to the Jade Emperor. The second floor has four parts: the Three Emperors Temple in the east, dedicated to Yao, Shun, and Yu; the Sanyi Hall in the south, dedicated to Liu, Guan, and Zhang; the Yama Palace in the north, dedicated to King Yama; and the Guanyin Temple in the west, dedicated to Guanyin, the Empress of Pandora, and others. Queen of eyes.
After visiting Qingliang Pavilion, the tour guide led us to the Yu’s Ancestral Hall, which was rebuilt from the original village committee. The Yu’s Ancestral Hall is a well-preserved stone courtyard, covering an area of ??300 square meters, with ten houses. There are five rooms, among which the first ancestor Yu Youdao and his descendants are enshrined.
In this small village deep in Taihang, everything from site selection to village architecture was carefully planned. The small village is located in a small basin of less than one square kilometer, which is low in the south and high in the north, lying in the east and rising in the west. Its shape is long and slender, like a fish with its head east and west. There are stones everywhere in the village and culture as far as the eye can see.
The entire Stone Village visit takes 2 hours.