Chengkan Village

Chengkan was settled by the Luo clan in the Tang and laid out according to feng shui and bagua principles, with the Longxi stream bending through it in an S-curve read as the taiji line, dividing the village into two halves, and eight lanes and surrounding hills completing the pattern. Its architecture is what distinguishes it from the better-known Huizhou villages: the Baolun Pavilion, a Ming ancestral hall of the Luo clan with a coffered ceiling, painted beams and carved brackets, is regarded as among the finest surviving Ming timber halls in southern China. Around a hundred and fifty old buildings stand, and the village sees a fraction of Hongcun's visitors.

What you actually see

• Baolun Pavilion - a Ming ancestral hall with painted beams and carved brackets.
• The bagua layout - the stream and lanes following the eight-trigram pattern.
• The Luo clan halls - ancestral buildings through the village.
• The quiet - far fewer visitors than Hongcun or Xidi.

When to go

March to May and September to November; spring brings rape flowers to the surrounding fields. The village is quiet on weekdays. Summer is hot and humid.

Honest expectations

Entry is charged and the village is small. Some halls have been restored heavily. The bagua layout is more apparent on a plan than on the ground. English interpretation is minimal.

Nearby

Tunxi lies south; Huangshan is north.