Tangmo Ancient Village - 5A Shuikou Garden Village in Anhui

Tanggan Garden is where the Shuikou (the source of water) lies. Huizhou people are keen on building Shuikou at the village entrance due to the influence of Feng Shui (Chinese geomancy) theory. They believe that water is a symbol of wealth. Tangan Garden combines Shuikou with a traditional Chinese garden, forming a perfect example of the unique style of Shuikou garden in Huizhou. The water, the field, the hills, and the village houses coexist in harmony and win Tangmo the name of "No. 1 Shuikou Garden Village in China".

Tangan garden also shows the filial piety of Tangmo people. Legend has it that in the early Qing Dynasty, there was a wealthy businessman called Xu Yicheng. Xu’s mom had long been attracted toward the West Lake in Hngzhou. But due to her physical conditions, she can not travel all the way to Hangzhou and appreciate the beautiful West Lake in person. So her filial son spared no expense to dig a lake in the village that simulates the scenery of West Lake. Therefore, the lake is also called "Small West Lake". Apart from that, other scenes you may admire at the West Lake can be also found here, such as “three pools mirroring the moon”, “Bai Causeway”, “Jade Belt Bridge”, and “Mirror Pavilion”. Inside Mirror Pavilion, there are 18 precious calligraphic inscriptions written by famous Chinese calligraphers such as Zhu Xi, Su Shi, Mi Fu, Dong Qichang, Huang Tingjian, Wen Zhengming and Zhu Zhishan from the Song Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty.

Canal here refers to Tangan river, which runs through Tangmo village like a ribbon. Nearly a hundred village houses, grocery stores, oil shops, small restaurants dot along the river. There is a more than 40-meter-long rain shelter corridor with benches along the river. People can feed and appreciate the fish here, or just have a chat with the neighbors on a raining afternoon.

But the most impressive sight of Tangmo village on canal is the ten stone bridges built on the river. Although they are small in size, they have different styles. The most famous one of them is Gaoyang bridge. It is one of the few remaining lounge bridges in ancient Huizhou area and was built in Yongzheng period(A.D. 1723-1735) of Qing Dynasty. Xu family built the bridge to remind their later generations that their ancestors come from Gaoyang County. Gaoyang bridge is a must-see in Tangmo, many tourists come here to have a rest, watch the scene along the river, or enjoy the tea art performances.

The archway was built during the reign of Kangxi (A.D. 1622-1722) in the Qing Dynasty. Two brothers named Xu Chengxuan and Xu Chengjia passed the three-tiered imperial examinations from local to provincial to court exams and became Jinshi (a title granted to the advanced scholars) in the 15th and 24th year of Kangxi's reign respectively. They were also chosen by Emperor Kangxi as Hanlin (an elite group of scholars performed secretarial and literary tasks for the emperor). It was a great honor at that time and was rare for a family to cultivate two Hanlin members. Therefore, Emperor Kangxi granted permission to build the Two Brothers Hanlin Stoned Memorial Archway in recognition of their achievements. The whole archway is almost covered by stone carvings. There are florescent plums carved on the stone pillars, which means “Bitter cold adds keen fragrance to plum blossom”, indicating the hardships the two brothers having been going through in order to pass the exams. It also shows that the local people attach great importance to the cultivation of their children.

The Martyrs’ Shrine is also called Zhonglie Temple. Zhonglie in Chinese means the loyal and valiant national heroes. The statues in Zhonglie Temple were completed in the Ming Dynasty and were used to worship Xu Yuan( prefecture chief of Suiyang City) and Zhang Xun (an able general under Xu Yuan’s command), two national heroes who devoted themselves to the country in fighting the Battle of Suiyang in the Tang Dynasty. In 757, Yin Ziqi led 100,000 rebel forces to attack Suiyang city, which was only guarded by 20,000 people. Yin Ziqi thought it would be a quick war. However, under the leadership of Xu Yuan and Zhang Xun, the soldiers fought valiantly. After a month, Yin Ziqi still couldn’t take the city, so he sent another 130,000 men to besiege the city. He tried several times to induce Xu Yuan to capitulate, but Xu Yuan would rather die than surrender. A few days later, the trapped Suiyang city ran out of ammunition and food supplies. Xu Yuan and Zhang Xun still refused to give in and fought to the end with the defenders. At last, the whole army was wiped out. The battle of Suiyang has become one of the bitterest wars in the history of China.

Xu Yuan is the ancestor of the Xu family in Tangmo. Therefore, Tangmo people built this temple to commemorate Xu Yuan and Zhang Xun for their loyalty and courage in defending their country.

How to Get to Tangmo Ancient Village

Tongmo lies about 25km to the north of Huangshan City. There are no flights or trains to Tongmo, therefore, you need to get to Huangshan City first and then transfer to Tangmo. You can buy bus tickets and check the latest timetable (not fixed) at Huangshan Bus Station (Tunxi). But usually there are no direct buses. You need to take a bus to Yansi and then go to Tangmo, which is kind of inconvenient and time-consuming.

Or you can travel with us to save all the troubles. We will provide you with cosy vehicles, professional guides and drivers. It will only take 30 minutes to drive to Tangmo from Huangshan City. What’s more, all the pick-up and drop-off services in the trip are included. It is very convenient if you want to travel somewhere nearby. For more details, please feel free to contact us.