Gaoyi Ancient Village, located 48 kilometers northeast of Huitong County in Hunan Province's Huaihua City, is a large-scale and well preserved ancient folk architecture village from the Ming and Qing dynasties discovered. It is praised by experts as the "Number One Village in Jiangnan" and the "Folk Museum".
Located at the western foot of Xuefeng Mountains and on the bank of Wushui River, a tributary of Yuan River, Gaoyi Village is 46 kilometers away from the county town. The village is surrounded by mountains and water with villagers living in harmony with nature. It is the home of 2,314 people in 614 households, covering an area of about 1,400 hectares, among which there are 200 hectares of rice paddies and 1,200 hectares of forests.
The village was firstly built in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), began to prosper in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), and reached its heyday in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1912) dynasties. The core area of the village covers an area of 21 hectares, and the building area of the ancient architectural complex is 15,000 square meters. There are 75 well-preserved and fully functional ancient residential buildings, with the earliest ones constructed in the 13th year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty (1380). The surname of 85% of the Dong villagers is Yang, and these villagers are descended from Yang Zaisi, the Marquis of Weiyuan of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). In front of each house, the Heaven-Earth-Sovereign-Parent-Teacher and the ancestral tablets are enshrined, which embodies a local custom of respecting ancestors. The village is rich in intangible cultural heritages. The Nuo Opera performed in the village originates from an ancient religious rite and is dubbed as the “living fossil of Chinese opera arts”.
With extremely high tourism development value, Gaoyi ancient village now preserves 104 ancient civilian buildings from the 13th year of the Ming Hongwu reign to the 7th year of the Qing Guangxu reign (1380-1881), with a total construction area of 19416 square meters.
In May 2002, Gaoyi Village was officially approved as a key cultural relic protection unit in Hunan Province. In June 2005, the village was listed as the sixth batch of key cultural relics protection units in China and a historical and cultural village in the province.
Travel Tips
Address: Gaoyigu Village, Gaoyigu Township, Huitong County, Huaihua City
Telephone: 0745-8726148
Opening Hours: Monday to Friday 08:00-16:30:00 throughout the year
Entrance Fees: CNY 50