Huizhou The Land That Time Forgot

HUANGSHAN City， in southern Anhui Province， was not always known by this name. For millennia， the region around the fabled Huangshan， or Yellow Mountain – probably China’s most famous peak – was known as “Huizhou.” Today， mention of the name “Huizhou” still conjures up romantic fascination among Chinese people.

Asked to elaborate， many will inevitably reference the Yellow Mountain’s haunting natural beauty： the contorted pines and the strangely shaped boulders that dot its slopes， and the sea of clouds that turn surrounding mountain peaks into jagged islands.

But Huizhou – today’s Huangshan City – has more to offer than the Yellow Mountain. To visit Huangshan City and not see the Yellow Mountain is inconceivable. But to leave， not having bathed in the region’s hot springs， marveled at the ancient Daoist ritual sites atop Qiyun Mountain or sauntered along the banks of the Xin’an River， is a travesty.

Millions of tourists make pilgrimage to Huangshan City every year. Many stay only a few days， during which – if they rush – they can take in all the above marvels. But stay a bit longer and you’ll find Huangshan has even more to offer.

Huangshan City’s Huizhou culture is a national treasure， and is rightly recognized alongside China’s Dunhuang Culture and Tibetan Culture as occupying a special place in the cultural legacy of the nation. Today， thanks to preservation work， much of the region’s past treasures remain； travelers seeking to immerse themselves in history find few regions in China that have more to offer than Huangshan.

Ancient， But Not Ruined

“Huangshan City” and “Huizhou” are today used largely interchangeably， though the latter more often refers to the culture of the region. “Huangshan”in Chinese actually means “Yellow Mountain.”The name of the local municipality was changed in honor of the famous mountain several decades ago， ostensibly to encourage tourism. Today’s Huangshan City consists of three districts – Tunxi， Huangshan and Huizhou – as well as four counties，namely Shexian， Xiuning， Yixian and Qimen. The Yellow Mountain Scenic Area itself also falls under the city’s jurisdiction.

Huizhou traders were famous throughout ancient China for their commercial prowess. As they grew wealthy， local culture also grew richer. The most obvious manifestation of this legacy of wealth is visible in local architecture. Many marvelous dwellings of former times remain to this day. With their brilliant white walls， black-tiled roofs， memorial archways and ancestral halls， they stand in timeless tribute to the prosperity of former times.

Today， there are over 5，000 historical and cultural remains in the Huangshan City area， of which local architectural styles of old are just one fraction. Classical stone inscriptions are another. It’s rare –even in China – to see such a high concentration of historically significant sites and cultural traditions.

Tourism is the bastion of the local Huangshan economy – both residents and the local government have a vested economic interest in ensuring the region’s history survives for all to see.

While Huangshan’s most significant historical sights have been long protected， the local government has been placing greater emphasis in recent years on ensuring the city’s other treasures， such as ancient village dwellings， also benefit from preservation schemes. In 2009， for instance， the city government kicked off its “100 Villages， 1，000 buildings： Restoring Old Dwellings to Livability”campaign. The aim of the program was to combine two seemingly conflicting imperatives： villagers wanted nice places to live； old dwellings had historical value and were worth protecting， but were unsuitable for inhabitation in their present form.

As the campaign progresses， 1，065 old dwellings will be restored to their former glory in 101 villages in the Huangshan City area. Plans covering the next five years also aim to completely or partly restore 30 traditional villages and 10 other “ancient dwelling areas，” while ensuring each has the modern facilities demanded by contemporary lifestyles. Ecology and sustainability are also stressed in construction.

The “100 Villages， 1，000 buildings： Restoring Old Dwellings to Livability” campaign is not only focusing on the “tangible” aspect of cultural heritage. It also aims to ensure that the villages， once restored， will find a place on the tourist trail through Huangshan， and hence have access to income channels. Besides the stunning architecture， the government is also promoting the preservation of various aspects of local folk culture and the development of other non-architectural tourist draw cards.

While tourism is important， the key to the project is ensuring Huizhou’s grand historical legacy continues to survive. Architecture is the body of this legacy； intangible culture is its soul.

Some villages participating in the “100 Villages， 1，000 Buildings” program have found novel ways to derive economic benefits from their reinvigorated architectural glory. Yixian County’s Xiuli Village is one such example – it’s turned itself into a successful “film village，” where directors come – and pay –to shoot period pieces.

Restoration work in Xiuli was extensive. Buildings on the verge of collapse were relocated； many others were rebuilt in the traditional style from the ground up， while some were only lightly repaired. The restoration was so successful that Xiuli soon caught the attention of filmmakers. Town residents also made themselves available to directors： they would don traditional garb and engage in traditional crafts to feature in films as extras. The motive was economic – but the result was that traditional culture has made a comeback among the restored dwellings. Films shot on location in Xiuli include True Legend and My Own Swordsman.

Another grand example of the success of the “100 Villages， 1，000 Buildings” initiative is the former Huizhou local government office， or Fuya， in the center of modern Huangshan City’s Shexian County. The Fuya， as the symbol of the imperial government’s power in Huizhou， was expanded several times before reaching its most glorious state by the middle years of the Ming Dynasty. At the time， such was the Fuya’s reputation for architectural splendor that it was referred to as the “Imperial Palace of Huizhou.”

In the 1980s， large sections of the Fuya were destroyed. Only a small section of one of its halls remained intact.

Restorative work on the Fuya officially got underway in April 2009. Builders relied on historical references during their work and have recreated the buildings as they were under the Ming. Now open to the viewing public， the Fuya occupies a prominent position in Shexian County’s old town. It sits a stone’s throw from the old town wall， central archway， drum and bell towers. The old town itself is also immaculately preserved. Wandering its alleyways gives tourists an excellent impression of what life was like in one of Ming China’s wealthier locales.

Once restoration is fully completed， the Fuya will also include a museum of exhibits on central themes in Huizhou history. Planned exhibits include notable historical figures from Huizhou， local history， paintings， traditional arts and crafts， and folk stories. All exhibits will highlight the unique place Huizhou culture occupies in China； the Fuya， as the symbol of Huizhou’s former cultural might， is a fitting place to house such a collection.

Artistic Legacies

Architecture is the grand facade of Huizhou’s long history. But look behind it and you’ll find local culture has much more to offer than merely stunning architecture. Huizhou is astonishingly rich in intangible culture – skills and traditions that are passed down from generation to generation. Folklore， performance arts， folk festivals and other activities and traditional handicrafts each enjoy their own rich history in the region.

China recognizes “cultural inheritors” – those who possess the skills and knowledge to pass down unwritten knowledge – at the national and provincial level. Huangshan City currently has 21 national intangible cultural heritage inheritors， in such fields as traditional ink production， inkstone making， opera， and bonsai horticulture. Three traditions –the “three carvings of Huizhou，” namely brick carving， wood carving and stone carving – have been officially recognized by UNESCO as the intangible cultural heritage of all humanity.

The traditional method of passing down these skills and traditions in Huizhou， as in the rest of China， was the master-apprentice education model. The system still exists， but in order to develop the traditions and expose greater numbers of young people to the arts， the Xingzhi School of Anhui Province， located in Shexian County， took the initiative in establishing a curriculum for the teaching of nationally recognized intangible cultural heritage.

Xingzhi School was named in honor of Tao Xingzhi （1891-1946）， a Shexian County native and renowned Chinese educator. Today Xingzhi School is an important base for vocational education and training nationwide.

As early as the 1980s Xingzhi School had already established She Inkstone making as a vocational major. The program was short-lived， however； it shut down two years after first being offered， due to a glut in local inkstone craftsman.

In 2007 She Inkstone reappeared on the school curriculum. Earlier that year， Yu Rijin， the school principal， became interested in the art of making inkstone. He looked into the careers of students who had studied inkstone making at Xingzhi School in the 1980s， and was surprised to see that many had gone on to senior positions in industry as technicians， painters and handicraft artists. Some had been recognized as “cultural inheritors” of various crafts in their own right. Among them was Wang Zuwei， a nationally recognized inheritor of the She inkstone tradition.

Principal Yu Rijin was inspired to seek a new way of teaching intangible cultural heritage such as the She inkstone tradition. Within a few years he had succeeded in building curriculums for not only inkstone creation but also the “three carvings of Huizhou，” bonsai horticulture， machine-less tea production and porcelain painting， with the aim of nurturing Huizhou’s artistic legacies.

Promoting cultural heritage in a vocational setting is new in China. It requires a different approach from educators and is demanding on students. Many head into vocational education with a poor grasp of traditional Chinese culture and aesthetics. Such things are hard to teach in between hands-on lessons， but are essential if artistic legacies are to survive.

In light of the importance of cultural background to artistic creation， Xingzhi School gives intangible heritage students the kind of comprehensive education usually disregarded at vocational schools. All students pass through one year of lessons on Chinese culture， art， aesthetics and general knowledge before they even start working on their artistic specialties. In their second year， artistic creation is given more time in the curriculum， while first year subjects continue. In the third year， 80 percent of students’ time is spent getting hands-on practice with their crafts.

The school realized early on that in order to train up practioners of traditional crafts to a high level， it would need to employ Huizhou masters to teach them. Thankfully， the school attracted the very best. Fang Xinzhong， a nationally recognized “cultural inheritor” of the brick carving tradition， and Zhou Meihong， a similarly noted master of Huizhou ink production， and others， now teach there.

Thanks to teaching expertise， first-rate facilities and access to materials， intangible cultural heritage apprentices at Xingzhi School are able to produce stand-alone works of arts after a mere three years of training.

“The master-apprentice relationship that dominated traditional skills education in former times doesn’t suit the way we go about things today，”said Principal Yu. “To ensure they remain relevant， traditional artistic skills must feature as part of a broader education. At Xingzhi School， we combine the best of the master-apprentice system with the modern model of education. Students receive classroom smarts as well as one-on-one instruction. It’s to their benefit，” he added.

Xingzhi’s model for passing down traditional skills seems to be working. For one， it’s commended by the masters of intangible cultural heritage themselves. “As inheritors， it’s our duty to go out into society and pass on our skills to young people. Fortunately， the school is the perfect place to both work on our crafts and do our youth outreach. Xingzhi’s model deserves to be copied，” said Fang Xinzhong.

Huizhou’s architectural and artistic wealth has long inspired people from across China. Hopefully， Xingzhi School’s new take on the master-apprentice relationship will go on to inspire educators in other provinces to rethink – and reinvigorate – their own approach to traditional culture.