Chaji Ancient Village

Chaji Village was founded in the eighth year of the Tang Wude era, with a history of over 1,400 years.

Horse-head walls, rustic architecture... countless painting enthusiasts choose to visit Chaji Ancient Village to paint the small bridges and flowing water. The "plein air painting army" has become a unique scenery in Chaji, attracting more than 100,000 students annually for sketching.

An old poem says: "Ten miles of Chaji village, nine miles of mist, surrounded by three streams among ten thousand households. Under the shadows of temples, pavilions, and pagodas, small bridges and flowing water meet apricot blossom skies." The ancient buildings in Chaji Ancient Village date from the Yuan to Qing dynasties and include many types such as village gates, pagodas, archways, temples, community altars, ancestral halls, ancient bridges, residences, ancient wells, and paper-saving stoves, resembling an ancient architecture museum. It is a nationally protected cultural heritage site, a Chinese historical and cultural village, the first Chinese village for plein air painting, a traditional Chinese village, and the largest existing Ming and Qing dynasty ancient village in China—this is Anhui’s only living millennium-old village. Unlike the crowds in Hongcun, here only the original residents wash clothes by the stream, elders dry autumn harvests at the alley entrance, and painters sketch by the bridge. The true everyday life and poetic Jiangnan landscape coexist here.

Chaji is less than 20 kilometers from Taohuatan (Peach Blossom Pool). Obviously, the great poet Li Bai would not miss the chance to encounter such beautiful scenery. Perhaps after bidding farewell to Wang Lun (to whom Li Bai wrote the poem "Farewell to Wang Lun"), Li Bai was invited by Chaji native Cha Shimo (an official who served as Zhongshulang and Xiaoshulang) to visit and stay at Shimen Bishan in Chaji, where he lingered for several days, reluctant to leave. Only when Xiaoshulang brought tea and wine to entertain him did he awaken from his dream and immediately wrote the timeless verse: "You ask why I dwell in Bishan, I smile without answering, my heart at ease. Peach blossom flowing water drifts away, another world beyond the human realm."

Since the Tang and Song dynasties, the Cha clan began establishing a series of family rules, family instructions, and family governance. During the Ming Jiajing period, Cha Jiang further organized and established ten family rules, fourteen family instructions, and five family governance principles.

In fact, these family rules, instructions, and governance served as the laws of Chaji. The clan had the right to legislate for its members, a power that superseded official laws and, in religious rites, even resisted legal authority.

In summary, their main content centered on filial piety and ancestor worship. In Chaji, besides residential houses for living needs, the existing relics are mainly ancestral halls and archways, all deeply marked by the clan era’s emphasis on filial piety and ancestor worship.

A village and a clan inevitably have its ancestral hall, usually only one. But in Chaji, there are many ancestral halls because the Cha population here was very large. It is said that at its peak in the late Ming and early Qing, the population reached 100,000. The Cha surname has flourished here for over 1,300 years, branching extensively. Once a branch prospered (through passing imperial exams, becoming officials, receiving titles, or gaining wealth), descendants would build ancestral halls to honor their ancestors and encourage future generations.

By the late Ming and early Qing, the official careers of Chaji people reached their peak, with waves of six-time and three-time imperial exam passers, brothers passing exams, civil and military officials, and continuous appointments as Hanlin scholars, capital officials, provincial governors, prefects, and county magistrates. Statistics show that during the Ming and Qing dynasties, 129 officials from Chaji held ranks above the seventh grade. After their success, their first act was to return home in glory. In an ancient society based on clan systems, there was no better way to honor ancestors than building ancestral halls. According to oral tradition, at its peak, the village had 108 ancestral halls, echoing the 108 heroes in the classic novel "Water Margin."

The Ming and Qing residential ancient buildings are located along both banks of the gently flowing Chaji River, stretching 10 miles, with 80 Ming dynasty buildings and 109 Qing dynasty buildings preserved. Almost all Ming and Qing buildings feature carved beams and painted rafters, upturned eaves, with residences like Degong Hall, Songqing Hall, and Airi Hall being especially grand and exquisitely structured. Notably, Degong Hall’s four-pillared, three-story archway-style gatehouse has five clusters of dougong brackets, slightly upturned eaves covering three levels, simple yet elegant and majestic. The back features intricate carvings of two dragons playing with a pearl, phoenix facing the sun, fish leaping over the dragon gate, and lions rolling embroidered balls, all skillfully and beautifully crafted. Ancient carvings in stone, brick, and wood are everywhere in Chaji. Wooden carvings on door and window lattices, stone carvings on hall pillars, and brick carvings on gatehouses are all finely detailed, delicate, and vivid, depicting flowers, birds, animals, and figures. Houses are multi-courtyard, with three or four courtyards, featuring "four waters to the hall" style skylights, with "beauty’s backrest" corridors on the second floor. Walls are built with stone slabs, round carved stone bases for pillars, walls of blue bricks, and roofs of black tiles. Traditional double-pitched roofs are half hidden behind overlapping gables.

Originally, Chaji Village had 108 bridges, 108 ancestral halls, and 108 temples. Now, more than 140 ancient buildings remain, including over 40 bridges, 30 ancestral halls, and 4 temples.

Degong Hall, built in the Yuan dynasty, is located in Shuilang Alley in the village. It features a three-story gatehouse, a lower front eave inside the hall, nanmu wood eave pillars that are thick, short, and round, with uncarved covered plate-style pillar bases. Its structure and carvings show many Yuan dynasty characteristics and styles. Built to commemorate the seventh ancestor Yong Degong, it is the only Yuan dynasty building in Chaji and one of the few in Anhui. The third-floor brick carving of "Carp Leaping over the Dragon Gate" is a high-relief carving and very precious.

Erjia Ancestral Hall, also known as Guangyu Hall, was built in the late Ming and early Qing to commemorate the sixth ancestor Cha Qibao. Covering 1,100 square meters, it features a five-phoenix tower-style gatehouse, finely carved wood and stone sculptures, and a "wood visible, brick invisible" architectural style. It is better preserved than other ancestral halls.

Airi Hall was built during the Ming Tianqi period and is the best-preserved residence in the village. It was built by ancestors of the Cha family who served as Jingzhaoyin (capital magistrate). The hall’s plaque was gifted by the common people, symbolizing "honest officials who love the people like their own children." The six brothers of this Jingzhaoyin family all passed the imperial exams, and the chief examiner once wrote "Planting Jade in Lantian" to praise them, which was later carved on the stone plaque above the front hall door and still remains today. Additionally, the Ming dynasty’s Songqing Hall and Jinshi Gate feature delicate carvings and exquisite structures, also highly appreciated.

Zouma Tower is a Ming dynasty building in Chaji. The center is the living room, with a three-sided carved and gilded large bed in the side rooms, exquisitely made with gorgeous patterns and bright red and green satin quilts, reflecting the family’s wealth and warmth.

Baogong Ancestral Hall is the largest ancestral hall preserved in Chaji. Located at a key point downstream of Xuxi River, it is the first scenic spot for viewing the river upstream. Built during the Ming Hongxi period (1425 AD), it was destroyed during the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom rebellion and rebuilt in the Qing Tongzhi period, covering 1,737 square meters. Its exterior looks ordinary at first glance, but inside, its architectural grandeur and extraordinary details and internal structure become apparent.

Explore the ancient streets: stroll along the banks of the three streams Xuxi, Shixi, and Cenxi, admire the Ming and Qing ancient building clusters such as Degong Hall, Erjia Ancestral Hall, Baogong Ancestral Hall, and experience the charm of Huizhou-style architecture.