As early as the Song Dynasty, the renowned Neo-Confucian scholar Zhu Xi praised it as: “Chengkan—the land of two sages, the number one village south of the Yangtze.” Today, it has been honored by many domestic and foreign experts and scholars as: “a classic of Chinese Bagua (Eight Trigrams), a treasure land of feng shui in Huizhou.” It is also famously known as the “Hometown of National Treasures.”

Chengkan Ancient Village: “With intertwining mountain forms and clear waters, sincere and honest people, upright ethics, farmland to till, rivers to fish, ancestral veins linked to Huangshan Mountain, and five stars surrounding it—this is a place where a clan can thrive for a hundred generations without moving.” Thus, the ancients identified this as an ideal living environment and moved their families here, selecting land to build homes and settle. Surrounded by high mountains on all sides, Chengkan is sheltered from southeastern typhoons in summer and northwestern cold winds in winter, as well as from harsh weather and fire disasters. Viewed from above, the village lies encircled by eight hills, seemingly connected yet not fully so, resembling the eight directions of the Bagua. These hills are: to the east—Lingjin Mountain and Feng Mountain; to the west—Long Mountain and Liwang Mountain; to the south—Guanyin Mountain and Ma’an Mountain; and to the north—Ge Mountain and Changchun Mountain. These eight peaks are irregularly distributed around the village, connected by terraced fields, forming the shape of the Kan trigram  of the Bagua, known as the “outer Bagua.” The entire village of Chengkan lies in a basin surrounded by eight hills with a river flowing through. The layout of the village follows the feng shui theory of the *Book of Changes*, balancing “Yin” (Kan) and “Yang” (Cheng), and unifying the two energies to achieve harmony between heaven and humanity. Skillfully adapting to the topography, the village features two canals, three main streets, and ninety-nine alleys, resembling a maze.

Chengkan is China’s unique and best-preserved ancient village from the Ming Dynasty. It boasts ancient architectural complexes from the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, which are of immense historical research value and have astonished the world. Chengkan currently has a population of over 2,800 people in more than 700 households, with 75% still bearing the surname Luo. They remain a cohesive clan, living together generation after generation, making it a typical Huizhou ancient village. It retains two original Song Dynasty structures, two Yuan Dynasty structures, 23 Ming Dynasty buildings, and over 130 Qing Dynasty buildings. Chengkan is one of the most concentrated, distinctive, and visually captivating villages in southern Anhui, featuring well-preserved residential architecture from the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Due to its historical isolation and poor transportation links, Chengkan has rarely suffered from the ravages of war. Thus, ancient residences are scattered throughout like stars in the sky. Ancient dwellings, ancestral halls, bridges, Hui-style carvings (brick, wood, and stone), houses, pavilions, platforms, towers, wells, and cultural sites abound. Among the exceptionally representative ancient structures preserved to this day are:

Luo Dongshu Ancestral Hall (Baolun Pavilion): The largest and artistically highest-ranking folk clan ancestral hall discovered in China, known as the “Number One Ancestral Hall in China.”

Changchun Dashe: A unique Song Dynasty structure in southern Anhui.

Yanyi Hall: Praised as “impregnable as a fortress.”

Eight Three-Story Buildings from the Ming Dynasty: Among the tallest ancient buildings in China, regarded as a wonder and extremely rare worldwide. Recognized by domestic and foreign experts as the pinnacle of Chinese ancient architecture.

Yuan Dynasty “Huánxiù Bridge” and “Lóngxīng Bridge”: The largest single-arch bridges from ancient China.

Song Dynasty “Tiger Cave”: A classic architectural example from the Song Dynasty.

Chengkan also boasts a thousand-year-old osmanthus tree known as “Golden Osmanthus,” revered by locals as a sacred tree and hailed as the “Number One Osmanthus South of the Yangtze.” Additionally, the thousand-year-old ancient paper mulberry tree at the village entrance is another marvel. Descendants of the Luo clan still preserve Zhu Xi’s preface to the *Luo Clan Genealogy*, his additional notes, Su Shi’s “preface and praise,” and more. The ancient plaques in Chengkan symbolize the family’s honor and prominence through generations. Over 50 well-preserved plaques from the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties remain, earning the title “a unique wonder of China.” Among them:

The Song Dynasty plaque “Dàsīchéng” is the oldest preserved wooden plaque in China.

A plaque gifted by Yuan Dynasty high official Li Meng in 1311 to Luo Qi, the Director of the Imperial Academy, is over 700 years old.

The plaque “Yílún Yōu Xù,” measuring 6 meters in length and 2.5 meters in width, is celebrated as the “King of Plaques” and “Number One Plaque Under Heaven.” It is the largest preserved ancient wooden plaque in China, inscribed by the Ming Dynasty master painter and calligrapher Dong Qichang.

Celebrities such as Zhu Xi, Su Shi, Ouyang Xiu, Dong Qichang, Zhu Zhishan, Lin Zexu, and Tao Xingzhi have left their marks in Chengkan. The ancient architecture of Chengkan was designated as a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit in 1996 and again in 2001, earning the title “One Village, Two National Treasures—the Number One Village South of the Yangtze.” With 22 nationally protected cultural relics, Chengkan astonishes the world and rightfully enjoys the reputation of “Hometown of National Treasures.”

When the great Chinese painting master Liu Haisu visited Huangshan, he made Chengkan his first stop, writing: “When visiting Huangshan, one must not miss Chengkan.” This has made Chengkan a “must-visit destination in one’s lifetime” and a sacred feng shui site in Huizhou. In Chengkan, visitors can witness how the ancient Huizhou people carefully selected village sites, housing foundations, gate orientations, water systems, feng shui, and Bagua positioning, all of which were closely linked to the rise and fall of a village or clan. This evokes a sense of mystery and inspires a pursuit and longing for an ideal life. The ancient customs and charm of Chengkan are truly unique. Vibrant performances such as “Dragon Lantern Dance,” “Incense Dragon Dance,” “Carrying Pavilions,” and “Jumping Zhong Kui” are spectacular, while folk activities like “Tossing the Embroidered Ball,” “Bridal Lament,” and “Carrying the Bride” are wonderfully entertaining.