Xia Mei Ancient Residences, an integral part of the World Cultural Heritage site of Mount Wuyi, is located only 8 kilometers from the national tourism resort area.
Xia Mei Ancient Village, situated 12 kilometers southeast of the city of Mount Wuyi, boasts a long history and a rich cultural heritage. The ancient residences, in the style of the Ming and Qing dynasties, integrate brick carving, stone carving, and wood carving into their design. With a simple exterior and a strong local flavor, they form a distinctive architectural complex. Over 900 meters of artificial canals run through the village, with pavilions, railings, and beauty spots along the banks. Ancient streets, wells, docks, buildings, residences, and markets, combined with the simple and honest local customs, create a typical Jiangnan water town landscape.
In the Xia Mei residences, there are still more than a dozen ancient plaques preserved to this day. The content can generally be divided into hall inscriptions, birthday plaques, and respect plaques, with various techniques such as intaglio, relief, and border carving. These plaques are rich in content and exquisite in calligraphy, recording the profound cultural history of Xia Mei Village and serving as a treasure trove of calligraphic art. Among them, the ‘Shi Zheng Hall’ inscribed by Wang Jie, a military minister of the Qing Dynasty, is particularly precious.
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