Cuandixia - Ming Dynasty Village near Beijing

650 metre above sea-level, nested in green temperate mountain. Only 90 km north-west of Beijing city is the idyllic village of Cuandixia.

With 70 residents, 698 rooms, 74 well preserved Ming/Qing period courtyards - this is a village that is frozen in time. Most of the houses are more than 500 years old.

Legend has it that the people of Cuandixia originates from mountainous region of Shanxi province. Due to flash flood - the whole village was wiped out except for a pair of young couple. With the village millstone as their witness - the couple married and moved to the present location. 

The couple gave birth to 3 sons and selected the middle name of Good Fortune (福) for their sons. The word 福 is written on many doorways in the village. All residents of the present day Cuandixia have the same family name of Han (韩) and are the 20th generation descendants of the original couple that migrated from Shanxi province.

The ancient Chinese word Cuan (爨)is an obscure word that time has almost forgotten. It has interesting construction - from top to bottom it reads Prosperity (興), Forest (林), Big (大) and Fire (火). Together it means that prosperity comes from forest and fire which can be interpreted to mean that in agrarian China of 500 years ago – the prosperity of the community was dependent very much on its ability to gather resources (wood, food and water) from the forest and to house one’s family around the stove (fire) for cooking and warmth. So it is very basic subsistence living we are talking about. 


Cuan (爨) in other word means Abundance and Warmth. While the 2nd and 3rd words DiXia （低下）literally means beneath the ground. In other words CuanDiXia can be interpreted to mean  Abundance and Warmth Beneath my Feet which equates to the concept of Home and Family. CuanDiXia has been the family home of the Han Clan for the last 500 years. 


The main industries of Cuandixia are bee farming and goat rearing. The village rose to prominence last year as the set of a successful Chinese warlord movie starring Jet Li and Andy Lau:

With the success of the movie and the hype behind the location set - the farmers at Cundixia Village have struck gold. Suddenly every Chinese movie buffs want to visit Cuandixia Village. With the inflow of  tourists and local visitors – many of the villagers have converted their homes to become village inns and motels providing authentic rustic food, entertainment and even BBQ! 

Conditions are very basic but clean - if you do not speak Mandarin it is best to look for a local tour that provides car and chauffeur that takes you to there as the villagers may not speak English.

Along the way there will be many village inns that you can stay in. Many villages have sprung up to tout their Ming/Qing Dynasty architecture and are collecting entrance fee as well. Many of the villagers are on the road to becoming China's new millionaires parking BMWs outside their home - thanks to tourism.  

Looks like the founder of the Han Clan knew what they were doing 500 years ago when they called the place Abundance and Warmth Beneath my Feet! Their descendants are prospering because of its location and heritage. Maybe that is what they meant by Feng Shui (风水) - which is the subject of my next destination!

Cuandixia has a comprehensive Chinese website : http://cuandixia.com/ with a 1 page English introduction.

Getting there.

Admission Fee to Cuan Dixia Village itself: RMB 30.

By public transport: Take the subway to Pingguoyuan Station苹果园地铁站  . Take Bus No 929 and; 981 (run twice a day at 7.30 am and 12.40pm). Change to a taxi at Dan Li Cun 担礼村.

By car: At Mengtougou district turn right at the XuangYu traffic roundabout 门头沟区双峪环岛 all the way to Dragon Spring Hotel  龙泉宾馆风味餐厅 . Take the G109 National Highway to YangChiZhen 雁翅镇, JunXiangXiang 军响乡 and ZhaiTangZhen 斋堂镇.

View Cuandixia 爨底下村- the Village over the Family Stove in a larger map

Not the Great Wall

Why minus the Great Wall? Simple, that is what everyone associate with China and Beijing.

The Great Wall is a must see in Beijing for visitors. There is a Chinese saying by Chairman Mao "不到长城非好汉" literary it means "He who has never been to the Great Wall is not a true man". So hundreds of thousands of tourists visit the Great Wall everyday even in the depth of winter. 

There is so much written about the Great Wall that you literally get drowned when you do a search. The tour companies live off the Great Wall tour.

We will instead talk about places of interest in China that is off the beaten track. We will take you on a journey on the road less traveled. 


My focus is to look for new interesting places that are within a day drive of key cities. There will probably be no 5 star hotel there - but hack you don't need them to enjoy your travel.

We will start off with Cuan Dixia Village - 90 Km to the North West of Beijing City. It was a sleepy little village north west of Beijing city - but tourism may make it one of the richest town in China.