Hongcun and Xidi are the picture-postcard Huizhou villages of southern Anhui — white walls, black-tile roofs, ox-cart ponds reflecting the mountains, and the setting for countless paintings and the film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Best time to visit
March–April for spring blossoms and misty rain, and November for the red-maple and harvest-drying (晓秋) colours. Mornings and dusk are quietest and most atmospheric; avoid weekends if you can.
How many days
- 1 day — Hongcun alone, or both villages in a long day.
- 2 days — stay overnight, add Xidi and Tunxi Old Street.
Getting there & around
High-speed rail to Huangshan North, then a ~1h shuttle or taxi to Hongcun; from Tangkou (Huangshan base) it is about 40 minutes. Tunxi (TXN) airport is the nearest. Inside, the villages are on foot — narrow lanes and a few bridges.
Top things to do
- Hongcun’s Moon Pond (Yuezhao) and South Lake at first light.
- Chengzhi Hall and the water-moon bridge.
- Xidi’s Jiaotai ancestral hall and Rulan Tang study.
- Shuhong drying racks and terraced rapeseed in nearby villages.
- Tunxi Old Street for snacks, tea and lantern-lit lanes.
What to eat
Huizhou classics: stinky mandarin fish, hairy tofu, bamboo shoots and ham, washed down with Taiping Houkui or Huangshan Maofeng tea.
FAQ
- How many days do you need in Hongcun? — One to two days is enough — stay overnight to see the famous moon-shaped pond at dawn and dusk when the day-trippers have gone, and pair it with nearby Xidi.
- Hongcun or Xidi — which is better? — Hongcun is more photogenic with its water-pond layout; Xidi is slightly quieter with grand ancestral halls. Doing both in a day or two is ideal.
- Can you combine Hongcun with Huangshan? — Yes — both sit near Tangkou, the Huangshan base, about an hour away, making old-village mornings and mountain sunrises an easy combined trip.
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