This May 19 on China Tourism Day, escape the city lights and head to the hills. China's most beautiful villages are living landscapes of mist, rice, and ancient songs. Here is your village voyage to the top 5 rural wonders.
1. Hongcun Village, Anhui: The living ink painting
White walls, black tiles and mirrored ponds look exactly like a classical Song Dynasty scroll.
Hongcun Village at dawn sees mist on the water mirror Hui-style houses like a scene from a classical Chinese ink painting. (Photo: VCG)
2. Wuyuan County, Jiangxi: The cliffside harvests
National Geographic called it "China's Most Beautiful Village."
From high mountains with flowing torrents to tiny bridges over quiet streams, Wuyuan has it all.
From March to April: Endless seas of golden rapeseed flowers.
In November: “Shai Qiu” (Autumn Drying.)
Where else do farmers hang their harvests on the cliffs? Only in Wuyuan, where autumn comes alive on the rooftops. (Photo: VCG)
3. Hemu Village, Xinjiang: The fairy tale log village
Home to the Tuvan people, in summer the wooden cabins dot the green pastures like a Nordic fairy tale. In winter, thick snow buries the village, transforming it into a hot ski destination.
Hemu Village in winter is China's very own silent fairy tale village. (Photo: VCG)
4. Hani Villages (Azheke), Yunnan: The cloud staircase
For over 1,000 years, theHani ethnic group has carved millions of stepped rice terraces into misty mountains. Their "four-in-one" ecosystem – forests, villages of mushroom houses, terraces and water – is a living masterpiece, where you can step inside a thousand years of wisdom.
Layer upon layer of terraces are sculpted into the earth at Azheke. (Photo: VCG)
5. Zhaoxing Dong Village in Guizhou: The village that sings
In Zhaoxing, the architecture sings. The drum towers hold the village together without nails, just like the community holds itself together without force. Everyone sings, villagers tell stories through polyphonic singing, like a forest of voices with no conductor.
Night falls on Zhaoxing Dong Village where the drum towers are lit up like golden pagodas. (Photo: VCG)