? Yanjiatai Village, Qingshui Town, Mentougou, which was founded in Yuan Dynasty, is a veritable ancient village. Judging from the unearthed Shang Dynasty coins, people lived in groups as early as 3000 years ago.
? The village faces south, surrounded by mountains, and each peak has a name. There is an ancient Great Wall on the north slope of the village and a mountain pass called "Laokouzi", which is a battleground for military strategists.
? Yanjiatai was once called Erlongtai because the Yan family first settled here and was later called Yanjiatai. Yanjiatai Village is introduced on the wooden sign at the entrance of the village, with the subtitle "Jingxi Long Mai". Because Donglongmen Creek and Xilongmen Creek meet in front of Yanjiatai Village like two Youlong, the village is surrounded by them, just like "two dragons playing with pearls". As the old saying goes, feng shui is excellent.
? The most eye-catching building in Yanjiatai is the street building at the entrance of the village, with red walls and gray tiles, which is antique. Originally considered as a well-preserved old building. Later, I heard from the villagers that it was an "antique", which was built by 1958 to beautify the village when water conservancy was built.
? Although the street building is not an ancient building, the two stone tablets embedded upstairs (above) are the remains of the immortal view of the ancient temple. Tongxian Temple is a "historical site of Han and Tang Dynasties", which is dedicated to "the old gentleman of Taishang", and it was very large in that year. The old man in the village said that in the early years, there were many Yanjiatai temples, including Tongxian Temple, Mountain Temple, Longwang Temple and Niangniang Temple. And there are several mountain temples alone, praying for the mountain gods to bless the dense forests and the safety of people and animals.
? Today, there are basically no temples in the village, but there are still many old houses in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
? Some ancient courtyards in the village are well preserved, mainly quadrangles and small three-in-one courtyards. The gatehouse, screen wall and stone steps are all available. Some houses have beautifully carved doorposts with drum-hugging stones beside them. There is a shadow wall across the mountain in the door, a clear water ridge with carved patterns on the roof, and stone carvings, brick carvings and wood carvings on the gatehouse, which are simple and elegant and ethereal.
? Courtyard 155 is a binary quadrangle. The pillars (corner stones) are engraved with "safe and prosperous home" and "clear and auspicious door", and the two square doorsteps are engraved with "Hong" and "Jubilee" respectively.
? Yard 178 is also an old house. The gatehouse is made of clear water ridge and scorpion tail, and the wall is made of brick with joints and fourth-order bluestone. Zhao Dashuan, the protagonist of Ding Ling's novel The Sun Shines on the Sanggan River, originally lived in 178 courtyard.
? Yanjiatai street is not wide, but criss-crossed, with many forks in the road. Walking on the bluestone road, I occasionally hear dogs barking. The old house enjoys the cool in the lush shade. Although most houses are closed, you will still feel the ancient folk customs of the village when you look at the gatehouse and decoration.
? Yanjiatai is a small mountain village with only 600 people. There are not many people left in the village except those who go out to work and get employment. I wandered around the streets of the village and didn't meet many people.
? The forestry and fruit industry supports the small village, with 1 1,000 mu of orchards and characteristic farms. In recent years, more than 20 farmhouses have emerged. There are parks, solar bathrooms, auditoriums and fitness fields in the village ... Old houses are scattered among them, adding a modern atmosphere to this ancient village.