◆By Ma Peiwu

　　Xiameicun, a village 4 km east of the Wuyishan Mountain resort, is located along the lower reaches of the Meixi River, from which its name - Xiamei - is derived. Xia means the lower reaches, while cun means village.

　　Dating back to the Neolithic Age, man began living here at Xiameicun. Due its long history, traditional culture still has a high reputation in this village. It is the flowing Meixi Dangxi rivers, its ancient streets, lanes, wells, docks, houses and markets as well as the simple customs that make Xiameicun a typical southern Chinese village.

　　In the early days of the Qing Dynasty (17th century), Xiameicun became one of the important tea distributing centres of the Wuyishan area. 300 vessels shuttled back and forth along the Dangxi River every day. The trade in tea brought riches to the local people.

　　For example, the four brothers of the Zou family (one of China family surnames) who possessed a large amount of money built over 70 luxury houses. Other families, as well, established their houses and ancestral temples at that time. With the Dangxi River as its central line, those buildings constitute a large-scale and unique architectural ensemble.

　　They include luxury houses of merchants, mansions of officials, hermits?villas, and scholars?residences, most of which are still used for education, assembly, and entertainment, in addition to accommodation. To this day, the buildings are preserved intact in their Ming and Qing dynasty styles. In this way, the economic prosperity that prevailed during the reign of emperors Kangxi and Qianlong (of the early Qing Dynasty) still manifests itself.

　　Bricks and wood constitute the main structure of the civilian houses. The architecture spaces are enlarged by adding girders and reducing pillars. The houses are usually 3 rows with 2 yards or 4 rows with 3 yards. The cabinet is in the east of the houses and the wing-room is in the west.

　　The high firewalls erected beside the houses are testimony to the villagers?security concerns. Many of those firewalls have been painted in two consecutive layers that are still lavish and vivid several hundred years later. One stands and marvels at the superb skills of those craftsmen of and their highly developed sense of colour.

　　The drains of the houses are connected. The layout of each residence is graceful and orderly, and with the paved lanes 3quietly criss-crossing.

　　Almost every building contains a story that is little known by others but carved in a stone inscription on the walls. Delicate brick inscriptions were placed on the gate of each household so as to boast their riches and honour. The inscriptions show not only outstanding local features but also have dignified cultural connotations. They each tell different stories, such as folk scenes, historical stories, as well as myths and legends. These are all symbols conveying people longing for better life.

　　Among all the brick inscriptions, the iaofanchuan in the ancestral temple of the Zou family and the mansion of the senior Zou official form the elite. Flowers and birds, mountains and rivers, utensils as well as personages merge into an organic whole. In addition, the calligraphy of those brick inscriptions is an embodiment of that rich and generous tradition.

　　Woodcarvings are mainly found on the windows, with auspicious animals, plants, and folk personages and stories as their design features. To this day, the delicate woodcarvings remain in good condition. Visitors may enjoy and appreciate China architectural style of the Qing dynasty while visiting the residences of Xiameicun.

　　Along the streets beside the Dangxi River, there is a row of wooden chairs with the beautiful name of eats of Beauty? A long time ago, the Dangxi River was a canal and the major trading route for tea. The majority of the menfolk left home by way of the canal insgroupsto carry out the tea trade far away. Their vessels, both large and small, carried the local speciality both far and near, and brought back the money they had made by the same route. The boatmen yo-heave-ho and the sound of rowing haunted the mountains by the sides of the canal. The wives at home often sat beside the canal doing needlework and waiting for their husbands to return home safe and sound.

　　Today, in the misty rain, sitting on the he Seats of Beauty?and listening to the touching stories and sound of the flowing river, visitors indulge in the scene and imagine those wives from long ago, looking into the distance, their long skirts fluttering in the wind, needles and thread in their hands, their eyes seeming to penetrate through history. Even the fragrance of that time still seems to linger in the air.

　　The ways of the people of Xiameicun are simple and unaffected. There are many everyday items and performances that represent the local peasants?lives, such as their paper cuts, dragon dances, Suona horn performances, a traditional agricultural implement and daily necessities exhibition, ancient workshops, wedding parties, traditional rural dinners, and an abundance of local specialities.