Heshun Village, Yunnan （云南僑鄉和順）

Heshun Village, Yunnan

Four kilometers away from Tengchong county, Yunnan province, across a paddy field and a stone bridge, is Heshun village, an ancient and beautiful south China village.

Tengchong used to be an important stop on the ancient“southern land silk road” which was a trade route linking Burma, India and China's Sichuan and Yunnan. Heshun sits beside the road. During that time, a large volume of cigarettes, alcohol, silk and tea from Yunnan were exported, and cotton, jade ware and jewels were imported from Burma. Many people from Heshun went to Burma and the neighboring countries for business.

Today, this traditional village has preserved much of its rich heritage, and the architecture and folk customs that existed before the Ming and Qing dynasties still flourish in Heshun. It is amazing that there is such a splendid Chinese village in the border area. The classical ancestral halls, temples, memorial archways, pavilions, stone fences and folk houses with white walls and black tiles record the flourishing history and traditional culture of the village. The poplar and willow trees by the river and the beautiful lotus flowers in the ponds make the garden scene of the countryside even more charming. The beautiful scenery has attracted many painters, photographers and film directors.

The village is also the birthplace of many well-known scholars. The old traditional building by the entrance to the village is a village-level library with the longest history and richest collection of books in China.