Discover China

China’s long and complex history has given rise to a range of different architectural styles. They not only fuse cultures’ structural and decorative forms, but are also influenced by Chinese concepts such as feng shui and yin and yang. The Shenzhen Daily presents the ten best examples of Chinese architecture in this series of articles:

• Ten best examples of Chinese architecture (I) – Kaiping diaolou and Wang Family Compound
• Ten best examples of Chinese architecture (II) – Imperial Prime Minister’s Palace, Fujian tulou and Qiao Family Compound
• Ten best examples of Chinese architecture (III) – Dayi Liu Manor, Hongcun Village and Xidi Village
• Ten best examples of Chinese architecture (IV) – Kang Baiwan Manor and Yulin Manor of Jiang Yaozu

I had the pleasure of visiting the Hongcun and Xidi ancient villages on my trip to Henan, Anhui and Zhejiang in 2009.

The China Daily article Hefei well worth a visit introduces the capital of eastern China’s Anhui province. Hefei is at the junction of Dongfei and Nanfei rivers, and is known as a garden city because of its many parks, which include Belt Park, a “green necklace” that circles the old town.

Hefei has many historical and cultural sites, such as the Memorial Temple of Lord Bao (999-1062) and the former residence of Li Hongzhang (1823-1901), a leading statesman during the late Qing Dynasty. It is also a great base for exploring the many other attractions of Anhui Province such as the beautiful Huangshan (Yellow Mountain), the ancient villages of Hongcun and Xidi, and the Yangtze River city of Wuhu.

I was fortunate to be able to visit Hefei and other Anhui attractions during my trip to Henan, Anhui and Zhejiang Provinces in 2009.