Ancient Residence
At the end of Southern Song dynasty (1127 -1279), Lin'an was rebuilt as capital and the city extended with lots of buildings. Among the artisans, "Hui Shang" (businessman from Huizhou, today's Anhui province) built many simple houses, from money he collected. Today's folk residences in Huizhou region, Chengkan village, Qiankou village in Shexian country are mainly from that period.
These houses were built under guidance of Fengshui, which follow the main principles to select locations based on their environment around. The house is surrounded with lush trees and green mountains feature black-and-white color. Decorative patterns of flowers and birds on pillars, parapet, windows and eaves add much luster. The inner complex is set to a square layout, with rooms on each side and a "Tianjing" - a dooryard for enough lighting and draught. The design was said to enable water to drip into the yard in rainy periods.
