Tuan Shan village is the only intact village of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).  It was inhabited by the Yi minority and some traditional Chinese Han.

Some of the courtyard houses, built of grey mud bricks, are 600 years old.  It is said that all the houses face east and therefore catch the first rays of the sun each morning. The first old house we saw had a sign which gave the building date as 1910… so not as old as some.

A very old covered doorway.

Many of these old doorways have a stone known as a Tai shan shi Gan Dang.  It’s believed that it can break spells and protect the house from evil and disasters.  An interpretive sign said that stone is believed to have “the cultural connocation (sic) that people wish blessings to the officials, health to the commonwealth, prevail of education and the promotion of rituals and music”.

A fig tree with a strong hold on its wall.

A fancy restaurant built on stilts above a lotus pond.

The light rain had left a delicate dusting of water drops on this lotus leaf.

Lotus seed pods about to shed their seed.

Looking up the street to the main gate of the walled village.

A sign we probably would not see in Australia!

Colourful decorations

The main East Gate of the village was built in 1904 as a two-story residence with three rooms.  It’s been an important fortification for the village.

Another decorated man hole cover.

The village square… a meeting place for a chat.

Red-coloured corn

A peep into a small square just off the main square.

Doorways are good places to meet… but the conversation must be somewhat boring!

An interesting house with traditional saddle-shaped roof.

 A sneak peak through a window into somebody’s kitchen.

One of the rooms in a museum house

A long bench table

A painted door panel

The panel on the other side of the double doors

An ornate gateway

One of the courtyards in the Liuyuan Garden and Mansion which was built by Zhang Youcai in the second decade of the 20th Century.  It has 17 rooms and two courtyards.

Time for a rest… more of this village anon

David

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