Evolving Yanjiatai Village
2 min readBeautiful mountains and rivers, paper—cut windowornaments, and delicious dumplings are part of whatattracts Chinese and foreign tourists. Also here to welcomeVisitors are honest and sincere farmers and the women,who are particularly kind, intelligent and hospitable.
Evolving Village
Formed 600 years ago, Guandi Village, situated inthe deep mountain valley in Yanxi Township, Beijing’sHuairou District, today has a modern look, with people oriented amenities, well preserved folk customs, a highlevel of civilization, a clean environment and democraticmanagement.Here are luxuriant forests, cool weather, fresh air,precipitous peaks, and ever-flowing mountain springs.
TheMing Great Wall traverses the village, with 19 passeswithin. Most of the historical residential houses are wellpreserved. Guandi is blended with the Shentangyu ScenicZone, a state AA—class scenic resort, and the well-knownYanqi River originates from the village, infusing water tothe naturally-formed Crocodile Pool, Twin Ponds, andDragon Pool, which are popular in summer for boatingand with those seeking cooler surroundings.Some 600 years ago, during the Ming Dynasty, afamily by the surname of Mao from Hongdong County,Shanxi Province, settled here, becoming the firstresidents of the village. They opened up fields andplanted crops for the garrison troops on the Great Wall.Different from “civil fields,” these fields were knownas “official land;” hence the village’s name,Guandi (literally meaning Official Land).
In1993, concurrent with the development ofthe Shentangyu Scenic Zone, the villagegained special attention and favor for itsbeautiful natural environment and pristinefolk customs Guandi thus became a populardestination for folk custom tourism and was reputed as the “No. 1 Village Based on FolkCustom Tourism ofBeijing,” In the brightsunshine, the remnantMing Great Wall snakingalong the peaks presentsa fascinating skyline forthe village. The renovated residential compoundsAn archaized house.dating to the Ming andQing Dynasties add a cultural flavor with grey tiles, elegant surroundings, broad paths,and an antique architectural style.
