Experience of Nanjing during the 2024 Overseas Chinese Media Tour to Zhangzhou, a Rural Urban Cultural City

Nanjing, formerly known as Lanshui, has accumulated rich historical and cultural heritage since its establishment as a county in 1322. There are 7 world cultural heritage sites here.

520 the Earthen Building in Fujian Province (Nanjing) Cultural Tourism Circle is a 52km long tourist route, featuring Tulou, ecology, red culture, overseas Chinese culture, etc., which connects 20 "online red card punching points", integrating world heritage exploration, overseas Chinese roots, health care and leisure. On December 4th, representatives from 21 overseas Chinese media outlets from 18 countries visited Nanjing in an immersive manner, experiencing the unique blend of tradition and modernity.

the Knot

Yunshuiyuan (filming location), formerly known as Changjiao Village, is an ancient village with a long history. The village features a secluded ancient road, century old banyan trees, magical earthen buildings, and green mountains and waters. At the end of 2005, a movie adaptation of "Search" titled "Yunshui Ballad" was filmed here, and the town gained great fame as a result. Since then, it has been renamed "Yunshui Ballad". The prop built during the filming of "Yunshui Ballad" - the water wheel - is still well preserved and has become a symbol of this town.

There are over a dozen century old banyan trees on the banks of the stream in the village, and a row of two-story old brick and wood houses next to the ancient road, which is the old street market with a history of hundreds of years. Most old shops still retain the feature of wooden boards replacing walls. The most eye-catching features of the village are the numerous earthen buildings scattered at the foot of the mountain, along the riverbank, and in the fields.

Hegui Building, Huaiyuan Building, Ancient Road

There are four wonders of your building: the tallest square building; Features such as earthen buildings built on marshland, yin-yang wells, and unique structures.

Heguilou is the tallest known earthen building in Fujian, reaching 21.5 meters in height. It is known as the "Noah's Ark" of ancient buildings and is also a unique square earthen building, also known as the "Number One Strange Building in the World". This is because it is a earthen building built on a swamp. It is said that the owner cut down hundreds of pine trees and used them as foundations for piling and paving. Now, when you step into the courtyard of the earthen building and stomp your feet vigorously, you can feel a slight vibration.

Yin Yang Well

Although the distance between the two wells is only 8 meters, the water quality of the "Yin well" is consistently polluted; However, Yangjing is crystal clear and serves as the drinking water for the residents inside the building

Tianluokeng

Tianluokeng is a classic image of earthen buildings in Fujian, with four circular buildings surrounded by a square building, jokingly referred to as "four dishes and one soup". A famous Chinese architect wrote a poem to describe it: 'Looking down, it looks like a flower, and beside it, it looks like a Potala.'.

Taxia Village

Taxia Village is a famous hometown of overseas Chinese in Zhangzhou and one of the first 15 Chinese landscape villages, known as the "Minnan Zhouzhuang". Along both sides of the river, there are 47 earth buildings of various shapes built along the mountain, tall and majestic, with a magnificent atmosphere. The earth buildings in the village have unique shapes and styles, and are known as the "mountain architecture of Shentaxia Village".

The most distinctive feature of Taxia Village is the Zhang ancestral temple - Deyuan Hall. This exquisitely designed ancestral hall has a history of over 400 years. There are 23 carved dragon stone carvings (commonly known as stone dragon flagpoles) standing by the pond in front of the hall. It is currently the most well preserved and intact group of stone dragon flagpoles in the country, and is a historical witness to the Hakka people's emphasis on civilization education and traditional cultural ideas in southwestern Fujian.

Yuchang Building (East Slanting West Slanting Building)

If the Leaning Tower of Pisa shocks you, then this crooked Yuchang Building is sure to attract you as well. However, from the outside, apart from being slightly larger in scale than typical earthen buildings, Yuchang Tower is not much different. However, when you step into the door, you will find that its pillars are crooked - the third floor slopes to the right, and the fourth floor slopes to the left. At this point, you may have to scream and escape, but don't worry, it has stood firmly here for more than 600 years.

These tilted columns that have remained standing for hundreds of years not only provide a visual shock to Yuchang Tower, but also serve as evidence that it is the oldest surviving earthen tower in Nanjing. But the residents inside Yuchang Building did not avoid the fate of switching to buying and selling. The kitchens on the first floor were transformed into shops and stalls, selling homemade tea, snacks, and more. However, there are also some kind and hospitable hosts who will treat you to free tea.

Easycan Inc. Journal JEFF/Photography Report