China News Service, Jinhua, October 5 (Reporter Xi Jinyan) One side is an ancient residential building that has gone through hundreds of years of vicissitudes, and one side is a bilingual guide sign in Chinese and English. During the National Day, visitors can feel it when they walk into Suoyuan Village, Jindong, Jinhua, Zhejiang. The charm of the fusion and collision of Chinese and Western cultures.
Suoyuan Village has a history of more than 400 years, and many ancient buildings from the late Ming and early Qing dynasties are preserved in the village.
In recent years, Suoyuan Village has opened up an international research and tourism development path through the construction of beautiful countryside and the inheritance of folk culture.
The ancient charm of Suoyuan Village has attracted many foreign friends to come to feel the charm of Chinese folk customs and ancient buildings.
From no one cares to more and more "international model", from dilapidated and backward to embarking on the road of well-off, the "beautiful butterfly change" of Suoyuan Village also provides new ideas for the protection and utilization of ancient Chinese villages.
Ancient buildings in Suoyuan Village.
Photo courtesy of Jindong Propaganda Department
"Grooming up" a new look
During the National Day, when walking into Suoyuan Village, the typical Hui-style architecture comes into view.
The staggered horse head walls have distinct levels, and the bluestone alleys paved with cobblestones are narrow and deep.
Through the lightly covered wooden lattice carved windows, visitors can faintly see that visitors are enjoying tea in the tea house and chatting and communicating in the coffee bar.
Such beautiful scenery is unimaginable. Just over ten years ago, Suoyuan Village was still a dilapidated, poor and backward village.
There are clutter and garbage everywhere in the village, and the ancient buildings have fallen into disrepair and damaged seriously.
Due to lack of sources of income, villagers have gone out to earn a living.
Bluestone alley in Suoyuan Village.
Photo courtesy of Jindong Propaganda Department
The transformation happened in these years.
In order to revitalize the ancient villages, in recent years, Jindong District has taken beautiful actions such as "five water governance", "three reforms and one demolition", and rural domestic waste classification as the carrier, and planned the area as a large scenic spot. This village was designed as a small scenic spot, ushering in a "beauty evolution".
With the advancement of rural domestic garbage classification, in Suoyuan Village, two classified garbage bins are placed at the door of every household for the villagers to put them out accurately.
The ancient buildings in the village have also been repaired with antique techniques to preserve their original style as much as possible.
With multiple measures taken, a beautiful ecological, clean village, and ancient charm of Suoyuan Village gradually emerged.
Ancient buildings in Suoyuan Village.
Photo courtesy of Jindong Propaganda Department
Open the door of the village to "welcome guests"
The “washed up” and “dressed up” of Suoyuan Village gradually gained fame. On weekends, six to seven thousand tourists come to visit.
Based on the development of rural tourism, Suoyuan Village has further improved its facilities and turned its attention to building an international research village.
Since hosting the first season of "Students from Overseas Famous Schools Entering Jinhua Ancient Village", Suoyuan Village has attracted more than 1,000 college students from 50 countries to come for research trips.
They experienced Chinese traditional culture and folk customs in Suoyuan, and formed a deep friendship with local villagers.
Nock Walklin, a student from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London, said frankly that after coming to Suoyuan Village, he seemed to have walked into the ancient years of China. “The Chinese countryside has great heritage, and the ancient buildings here are very well preserved. It’s also very attractive and the environment is very tidy."
Chinese and Western cultures converge and each shines brightly. Today, Suoyuan has become a well-known "international research village", and people come here to study and travel.
At the entrance of the village, the national flags of many countries are fluttering in the wind, and bilingual signposts in both Chinese and English can be seen everywhere in the village. The villagers can speak a few simple English at will, and there are several pictures of "foreign students" hanging in their homes... Suoyuan Village The trendy look and the flavor of the ancient village blend together, presenting an "international style" traditional Chinese ancient village.
Suoyuan Village.
Photo courtesy of Jindong Propaganda Department
Minfu Village Meibaiyexing
The door of the village is open, customers are like a cloud, and the strong popularity also brings unlimited business opportunities for the villagers.
In order to protect this "living ancient village", Suoyuan Village has developed a brand-new travel experience model, which the locals vividly call the "home+" model.
Under this model, every family in the village can be a hotel, restaurant, convenience store, and folk experience place.
Tourists come to Suoyuan Village and open a house at will, and they can buy freshly picked fruits from the trees, freshly made rice cakes at home, freshly ground tofu, hand-made straw sandals, paper-cutting, copper money gossip, etc.
If you are hungry, tell the villagers and you will be able to eat a hot peasant meal after a while.
At night, the villagers' homes become homestays. Tourists can live in different styles and unique homestays, enjoying the warmth and comfort of home, and villagers can also achieve home employment without leaving their homes.
Seeing the increasing popularity of the village, villager Yan Jinwei regained his old skills and started ginger candy, which he sold at his doorstep.
"When I was young, I went to sell them in the town, and then I stayed at home. Now the village is engaged in tourism. I also sell the ginger candy so that tourists can take something with them." Yan Jinwei told reporters that he had a day when business was at its best. Can sell 40 catties and earn tens of thousands of yuan more every year.
Dancing dragon lanterns, playing Tai Chi, singing Wu Opera, Dao Qing, and welcoming visitors from all directions... The life of the villagers in Suoyuan spread out like a poem.
Suoyuan Village, a fusion of ancient and modern, Chinese culture and world culture, is telling the world the story of China’s countryside by virtue of its reputation as the “Village Ancient Architecture Museum” and the International Research Village.
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