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The front of a village ancestral hall with a layered curved roof ridge, a pair of stone lions on either side of the step and a group of visitors in the court in front, with wooded hills behind

Jiangxi · A Huizhou-Style Village in Northeast Jiangxi

Jiangwan, Wuyuan (江湾)

White-walled houses with stepped gable tops, carved brick gateways and an ancestral hall with dark timber interiors, in one of the villages that make Wuyuan's reputation.

Quick Facts

The Short Version

What it isA village of Huizhou-style courtyard houses and ancestral halls in Wuyuan County, Jiangxi
WhereWuyuan County, in northeast Jiangxi near the Anhui border, in the area administered from Shangrao
ArchitectureWhite plastered walls under dark tile, stepped gable ends, carved brick gateways and timber halls with carved beams
Time neededHalf a day for the village. A full day if combined with a second nearby village
TerrainFlat lanes and courtyards, mostly paved
ListedA national 5A scenic area

Why Go

The Village Style Wuyuan Is Known For

1. Houses built to a pattern

Villages in Wuyuan share a plan with their neighbours across the Anhui border. Houses have tall white walls with a stepped gable top, a small gateway framed in carved grey brick, and an inner courtyard with timber galleries. Jiangwan shows this style in a compact area.

The brick gateways are the details to look for. Their frames are cut in layers of relief, each cut with floral and figure motifs.

2. The ancestral hall

The large buildings in the village are ancestral halls, deep timber structures with open fronts, tall columns and carved roof beams. The hall in the photographs has a front court guarded by a pair of stone lions and an interior hung with name boards and decorated panels.

Seeing the hall and the domestic courtyards together explains how a clan village worked: the ancestors' hall at the centre, family houses around it, and the lanes between them.

The open timber front of a hall with a carved wooden gallery along its upper storey, grey stone balustrades on the platform and a small group standing at the foot of the steps
The open timber front of a hall.
Inside a timber hall with a dark ceiling, a name board hanging above the doorway, red couplets on the pillars and painted panels leaning against the wall
Inside the hall: name boards, couplets and painted panels under a timber ceiling.
A grey brick gateway with a carved frame and a green name board above a dark doorway, between two stepped white gable walls
A carved brick gateway between two stepped gable walls.
A long white plastered wall with three stepped gable tops, small square windows and a name plaque over a gateway, against a bright blue sky
The stepped white gable wall that marks the Huizhou style.
A carved brick gateway with layers of relief figures and floral panels under a tiled eave, set into a pale wall
The layered relief on a brick gateway.

Practical

Things Worth Knowing

Look at the gateways

Much of the craft is in the carved brick frames. A few minutes spent at each shows the range of motifs.

Go in the morning

Morning light suits the white walls and groups are smaller.

Combine villages

Wuyuan has several villages of this kind. Pairing two in a day gives a sense of variety in the same style.

Bring a translation app

Name boards and couplets are in Chinese, and reading even a few makes the halls more legible.

Nearby

Other Stops on the Same Trip

City guide

Shangrao (上饶)

The prefecture city that administers Wuyuan, with the mountain and lake scenery of northeast Jiangxi.

Spot · across the border

Mount Huangshan (黄山)

The Anhui mountain whose foothill villages share Wuyuan's architectural style.

A long day trip.

Where to Base

Shangrao (上饶)

Wuyuan County is in the northeast corner of Jiangxi and is usually reached from Huangshan in Anhui or from Shangrao. Many visitors base in a village guesthouse for a night to see the lanes without day crowds.

Visit in the morning, study the gateways and the ancestral hall, and pair the village with a second one for the full picture of Huizhou style.

Photo Credits

Related

Keep Exploring Shangrao

Attractions in and around Shangrao

Theme maps

Background reading

Plan a Jiangxi Route That Includes Jiangwan

Share the travel dates and interests, and our local team will build the route around Jiangwan, with the other villages of Wuyuan and Huangshan across the border.

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