Huangshan Mountain in Anhui Province is a great place to avoid the summer heat. But few know there is a small county named She County in Huangshan city, which can provide a good alternative for quiet folk.

She County is famous for its well-preserved Hui style architecture, villages and historic sites. The high Hui-style horsehead walls (named so because the white wall and tiled roof resemble a white horse and its mane flying in the air), houses, the foursquare ancestral temples, and deep and serene streets-these have marked She County a historic location. Most impressive of all, is the traditional Chinese memorial archways.

Traditional Chinese Memorial Archway

Chinese memorial archways have existed since the Zhou Dynasty (BC1046-256). They symbolize honor, showing glory and achievements, and memorializing important people or events.

In ancient China, it was a glory for a person to have an archway built for him. People who had achieved an official rank higher than Juren (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations at the provincial level in the Ming (AD 1368-1644) and Qing Dynasties (AD1644-1912)) could establish an archway with the permission of local government. It was even more difficult to build archways praising one's success, achievements, fealty or chastity. The applications need to be approved by the emperor.

Memorial archways are usually made of stone, bricks, wood or cement. There were also archways built for officials of high level, important historical events, and the construction of famous temples.

Tangyue memorial archway cluster

Tangyue memorial archway cluster in Tangyue Village, at the west side of She County is one of the most famous archway clusters in China. These memorial archways were built by the Bao family, a famous Hui business family that lived through the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Photo Source: Chinadaily.com.cn

Tangyue Village is more than 800 years old. Most of the villagers' family name is Bao. They ran business generation by generation and emphasize filial obedience.

The famous archway cluster is at the entrance to the village, arranged in the order of Zhong (loyalty to the court), Xiao (filial obedience), Jie (virginity kept for a husband) and Yi (faith to friends). There are seven memorial archways. Three of them were built in the Ming Dynasty and the other four in Qing Dynasty.

The Mashi Archway was built during the Jiajing period (AD 1522-1566) of the Ming Dynasty. It is more than 450 years old. This archway was built for praising Bao Can, famous for educating his children. His offspring made a great contribution to protecting the country. The emperor ordered this archway for praising him.

Among the seven memorial archways, two out of them were specially built for highlighting women's chastity in the Qianlong period (AD1736-1795) of Qing Dynasty. The two women kept widowhood, and led a poor lie and brought their children up after their husbands died. They earned their two stone archways through their loneliness and hardship.

Women ancestral temples

Besides the famous memorial archway cluster in the Tangyue Village, the ancestral temples are also worth seeing.

Photo Source: Chinadaily.com.cn

The Men's Ancestral Temple is at the west side of the village with the archway cluster. The whole temple was for showing th influence of the Bao Family and the precise family regulations.

The Women's Ancestral Temple, named Qingyi Ancestral Temple, is the oly women's ancestral temple that remains ntact in China, built in the Jiaqing period (AD1796-1820) of Qing Dynasty.

Ancestral temples were for men discussing important affairs, punishing people who violated family regulations and consecrating ancestors. Women were not allowed to enter the ancestral temples at all in feudal society. Thus, Qingyi Ancestral Temple was unique at that time. It was built especially for women to discuss affairs relating to them and consecrating female ancestors.

How to Get There

She County is in the city of Huangshan, Anhui Province. It is only 27 kilometers away from Tunxi, downtown Huangshan. There are direct coach buses from Tunxi to She County. Tickets are four yuan.

The distance between She County and the Tangyue memorial archway cluster is six kilometers. You can go there by bus or taxi.

There are buses between the different sights in She County and also to the railway station. The cheapest ticket is one yuan.

Food

The local village food includes partridge, mandarin fish, maodoufu (a kind of bean curd with a layer of white mycelium made by artificial ferment) and furong gao, a kind of cake.

There isn't much accommodation in She County. Xinan Hotel, Ziyang Hotel and Piyun Hotel are nice. Tre are also some local hostels, which will cost you less. The hostels in Yuliang Town, three kilometers away south of She County, are nice. You can hear the sound of the water from Yuliang Dam in the rooms.

1. Xinan Hotel

Location: No. 12, Hongqi Road, She County, Huangshan City, Anhui Province
Tel: 0559-6512170

2. Ziyang Hotel

Location: No. 25, Xinan Road, She County, Huangshan City, Anhui Province
Tel: 0559-6512666

3. Piyun Hotel

Location: No. 5, Piyun Road, She County, Huangshan City, Anhui Province
Tel: 0559-6530000

Editor: Wing