New countryside

Design and transform the countryside, Songyang’s path of exploration

Songyang, Lishui, is a remote small town in southwestern Zhejiang. It has many mountains and little flat land. There are nearly a hundred ancient buildings hidden among the mountains. The village, with its loess huts and the smoke from cooking, is still a scene of rural farming. This county with a history of more than 1,800 years has more than 100 traditional villages with complete layout, of which 71 are listed on the national protection list, ranking first in East China. It is known as "a sample of rural China" and "a sample of rural China". The last secret place in the south of the Yangtze River."

In recent years, Songyang County has been committed to exploring the protection and development of traditional villages and the display of local culture, and guiding the people to use traditional houses to develop rural B&Bs. In 2015, it was awarded the title of "Chinese Traditional Village Protection and Development Demonstration County" by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development. Only Songyang in Zhejiang and Jianshui in Yunnan have won this honor.

Pingtian Village, Sidu Township, is one of the many ancient villages in Songyang. This small mountain village with a population of only a hundred people, relying on the original beauty of the mountains and wilderness, and the local government's policy of "revitalizing" traditional ancient villages, many designers have realized their desire to transform farmhouses here, transforming Pingtian Village into a "Cloud Pingtian Slow Life Experience Zone".

The name "Yunshang Pingtian" has been heard as early as last year, and many people call it a model of "mountain B&B village". Behind him stood a group of famous architects from Tsinghua University, Harvard, and the Central Academy of Fine Arts. When we were preparing the topic of "Beautiful Countryside", Pingtian Village in Songyang was naturally included in our scope of investigation.

Most of Songyang’s traditional villages are scattered in remote mountainous areas. Public transportation is very scarce, so self-driving is an ideal way. The high-speed rail from Shanghai to Lishui opened last year, so we adopted the high-speed rail car rental method, which can save a lot of time on the road. In four years' time, the high-speed rail directly to Songyang will be opened, making it more convenient to get to Songyang.

Pingtian Village is located in Sidu Township, Songyang. You can reach Pingtian Village by driving 15 kilometers north from Songyang County along the winding highway. Pingtian Village is a village with a history of more than 900 years. It is built on the mountainside with an altitude of more than 600 meters. The ancient houses are spread out layer by layer. Due to the special mountain village topography and magical climate, the place is shrouded in hazy mist most of the year, forming a unique sea of ??clouds landscape, hence the name "Pingtian above the clouds".

Although Pingtian Village has a dreamlike pastoral scenery, life on the mountain is too inconvenient. Most of the villagers have already left their dilapidated yellow mud houses and moved to the county town. There are only a few dozen elderly people still living in the village, and more and more old houses are in disrepair. The village is facing a serious hollowing out situation.

A few years ago, I heard that the county was planning to vigorously develop rural B&Bs, which made Jiang Binlong, who was born in Pingtian Village, see potential opportunities. In 2013, after working outside for many years, he decided to return to his hometown and rented 28 idle old houses in the village to develop B&Bs. Then he established the "Yunshang Pingtian Tourism Development Co., Ltd." and started the village's "reform".

With the help of Wang Jun, Secretary of the Songyang County Party Committee, Luo Deyin, a professor at the School of Architecture of Tsinghua University, came to Songyang and made an overall plan for the transformation of Pingtian Village. Under his leadership, Pingtian Village introduced an architectural design team composed of several college professors. They assigned different old houses and began to renovate them according to their corresponding functions.

Two years later, a comprehensive project including "Grandpa's Youth Hostel", "Muxiangxiangtang" B&B, Siheyuan Restaurant, Yunshang Tea House, Crop Exhibition Hall, Artist Studio and other projects were successively developed and constructed. " This is how "Yunshang Pingtian Slow Life Experience Zone" came into being. More and more people come here to visit, making this isolated mountain village gradually rejuvenate.

The first thing that brought Pingtian Village into the public eye was the youth hostel called "Grandpa's House" in front of us. It is also the reception center of the experience area. From the outside, it looks like just an ordinary rammed-earth house. It was originally the residence of the owner, Grandpa Jiang Binlong. After the renovation was completed, it was simply named "Grandpa's Youth Hostel", which is quite affectionate. Just last year, it was named the world's best budget hotel in 2016 by Hospitality Design Magazine, the leading hotel design magazine in the United States.

"Grandpa's Youth Hostel" was designed by He Wei, director of the School of Architecture of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. The exterior shape of Grandpa's house has been basically preserved completely. Only a long window is opened on the second floor facing the good view, bringing scenery and light into the room. This rammed-earth dwelling has little modification on the outside, but it has a lot going for it on the inside. The interior walls on the first floor of the original building were demolished and opened up to become the reception desk, living room, study room, and cafe of the youth hostel.

The second floor is the living unit of the youth hostel. He Wei used translucent solar panels to create three movable rooms within the room, "putting" the big house in a gentle manner. inside. Its smooth and light texture forms an interesting contrast with the Laokang earthen wall. Light tubes of different colors are placed in the room. When the lights are turned on, the space becomes dreamy and fashionable. Each box has bunks and bunks, which can sleep 4 to 6 people. This place is mainly prepared for young people who come here for sketching and outings.

In addition to Grandpa’s Youth Hostel, Yunshangpingtian’s accommodation area consists of several houses of different styles.

The "Wooden Herb Hall" designed by Xu Maoyan, the former dean of the Department of Architecture at Tsinghua University, used wooden materials to renovate the interior without changing the external form, giving people a sense of simple nostalgia and warmth. "Guiyunju", completed in October last year, is completely decorated in a modern style and pays more attention to comfort. It is the first B&B in Songyang with floor heating. Today, Yunshang Pingtian *** has 22 rooms, and the occupancy rate is basically around 70%.

The "Shanjia Qinggong" restaurant designed by Professor Wang Weiren, dean of the Department of Architecture of XG University, is the largest renovated building here. The designer retained the original patio structure of the old house and used bamboo materials to create a An elegant courtyard-style restaurant with private rooms upstairs. An old house behind the restaurant has been transformed into a tea room. After dinner, you can sit here, make a pot of tea and enjoy the misty mist in the mountains.

In addition to B&Bs and restaurants, the village also has a farming museum and a handicraft museum, which were transformed from four idle and abandoned cowsheds and yellow mud houses at the entrance of the village. The designer is Xu Tiantian, a young designer from Harvard University. Her projects in Songyang seem to be more focused on public architecture (well-known works include: Damu Mountain Tea Room, Xingcun Brown Sugar Workshop, Shicang Contract Museum, etc.)

The Agricultural Museum has almost no changes to the original structure of the house. It only made certain repairs and reinforcements on the walls, and used traditional materials such as staggered open tiles on the roof to create a fresh sense of light. Displayed inside are some farming tools and daily necessities voluntarily donated by villagers. Although it is not a precious exhibit, this design can give villagers confidence in their own culture, and it is also a window for outsiders to understand rural culture.

Next door to the Farming Museum is the artist's studio. The designer removed the wall between the two dilapidated houses and used strip skylights to connect the two houses, making the two houses into one. The first floor forms an open and bright event space, where a handicraft exhibition about traditional tie-dying is currently being held.

"Pingtian on the Clouds" is actually a rural complex project. As the county's first rural slow life experience area, Jiang Binlong wants to change not just a few houses, but also hopes to gradually transform the Hollowed out traditional villages are transformed into vibrant communities that attract modern people.

“We all hope that our hometown will get better and better. I want to share the beauty of my hometown with more people, and at the same time arouse the villagers’ awareness of caring for and developing their home.” Jiang Binlong said that at present, the basic management of homestays from operators to service staff They are all local and nearby villagers, and the fruits and vegetables consumed by tourists are basically supplied by farmers in the village. Agricultural products that were originally unsold in the village were bought in packages by consumers in the city, which invisibly increased the income of local farmers.

According to my interviews, the simple villagers do not reject the influx of tourists. Due to the development of tourism and the supporting project of "Pingtian on the Clouds", the village's tap water and sewage systems were built with the help of the government. The appearance of the village has become more tidy and the living conditions have been greatly improved. Seeing that the village is getting more and more lively, some young people also plan to come back from the city to run B&Bs.

After more than two years of hard work, Yunshang Pingtian has begun to show its scale, and more untapped resources will be included in the development plan step by step. Of course, Jiang Binlong’s Hirata dream was not always smooth sailing. "Yunshang Pingtian Construction has invested more than 6 million yuan so far. There are still some reconstruction projects that have not been completed, and there must be financial pressure. Secondly, there is a shortage of talents. In the future, more professionals will be needed for operations and services. Join.”

Fortunately, the rural founders represented by Jiang Binlong have received strong support from the government. Last year, in order to further encourage the development of the B&B industry, Songyang issued the "Implementation Opinions on Promoting the Economic Development of B&Bs". The county finance integrated 30 million yuan in funds to support the economic development of B&Bs. For B&Bs that have been rated, a certain financial subsidy will be given for each room. . It is hoped that in this way, more rural makers can be attracted to join in and promote the transformation and development of rural tourism in Songyang.

The turnaround of Pingtian Village is a typical case of Songyang’s “activation protection”. The so-called "revitalization and conservation" is to make "dead" ancient buildings "alive" through flexible management methods. What happened to Pingtian Village is not an isolated case, but a microcosm of traditional villages across Songyang in recent years.

The next day we left Pingtian Village and went to the nearby Xikeng Village, which is known as the "most beautiful village". The two villages belong to the same Sidu Township, and the straight-line distance is only about three kilometers along the winding mountain road. It only takes seven or eight minutes to drive there, so they are often compared together.

From a distance, you can see many cars parked at the entrance of the village, which seems to be more lively than Pingtian Village. The size and appearance of Xikeng Village are similar to those of Pingtian Village, but the view of Xikeng Village is better than that of Pingtian Village because the village is located just facing the gap between two mountains, so the view is not blocked. If the weather is good, you can even see Songyang County across the canyon.

The two locations with the best views in the village have successively built boutique hotels. It started with "Guoyunshanju". Since its opening in August 2015, the occupancy rate of "Guoyunshanju" has been around 97%. Because of its success, "Cloud Viewing" was opened above Guoyun, another location where you can enjoy the view. Both B&Bs are design hotels that focus on the "cloud", and their prices are similar.

Standing on the suspended terrace of "Guoyunshan Residence", you are facing a V-shaped valley with a vertical drop of about 500 meters, which may not be suitable for people with a fear of heights.

It is said that if you come here in the morning, the clouds and mist will rush up from the valley like waves, making people feel like they are living in the clouds.

"Guoyunshanju" can be regarded as the current benchmark for the entire Songyang homestay industry. If "Pingtian on the Clouds" is a spontaneous reconstruction project by local villagers, then "Guoyunshan Residence" is a representative example of foreign capital entering Songyang to ask questions. To some extent, because foreign investors bear higher risks, they will have stricter site selection and design standards than local operators. This is not difficult to find.

The three partners of "Guoyunshanju" B&B are all from Suzhou and have little experience in this industry. When they decided to open a B&B together, they felt that the most important thing was to choose a location. They visited dozens of villages in Songyang alone to inspect, and finally selected the mist-shrouded Xikeng Village, which is 700 meters above sea level.

They found two old houses in the village that faced the canyon and had the best views. They spent a whole year remodeling them and built only 8 rooms. The 8 guest rooms are almost suspended on the cliff, with floor-to-ceiling glass, viewing bathtubs, Japanese tatami mats and bamboo furniture. Outdoors, a steel structure is used to build a suspended terrace with a huge drop. The purpose is to allow the guests who come here to better watch the clouds and relax.

Nowadays, in Xikeng Village, in addition to "Guoyun Mountain Residence" and "Cloud Search", in other locations with worse scenery, villagers have spontaneously opened several farmhouses and restaurants. Obviously, Xikeng Village, which is small in itself, has no more room for development. My eyes moved upward unconsciously, and I saw Zhaitou Ridge in the distance. There was also an ancient village, Chenjiapu Village, near the top of the mountain. The scenery there is also good, but the altitude is higher and the clouds and fog are bigger.

It only takes a few minutes to drive from Xikeng Village to Chenjiapu. Chenjiapu Village, which is 800 meters above sea level, has also attracted much attention recently. The "Pioneer Bookstore", which was rated as the most beautiful bookstore in China by CNN, will soon open in Chenjiapu Village. This is also another rural bookstore in Jiangsu that Pioneer Bookstore has stepped out of after "Bishan Bookstore" and "Pioneer Yunxi Library". It came to Chenjiapu Village with it, and of course his partner, Yun Xi Local Art Hotel.

We walked around the village, and it was obvious that Yunxi Hotel planned to replicate the successful model of "Yunxi Daijiashan" here, the high-altitude, stepped traditional village, Yunxi Hotel. Built not far from the village entrance (currently under construction), a few hundred meters away, the Pioneer Bookstore is built in the core of the village. The construction of the bookstore has been basically completed, and carpenters are making rows of square bookshelves. The scenery is also very good, and you can see Xikeng Village below.

The location is probably too high. Chenjiapu is sparsely populated, and the villagers have basically relocated. The abandoned and collapsed old houses in the village are more numerous than any village I have ever been to. It feels like a lot of work needs to be done if this place is to be developed as a whole.

On the way back to Songyang County from Chenjiapu Village, we went to Langshu, which is located lower. Village. The villages in Sidu Township are not far from each other. Due to the successful development of Xikeng Village and Pingtian Village, other surrounding villages seem to be engaged in rural construction. Obviously, there will be a series of B&Bs here in the future. Themed tourist resort route.

Nangshu Village is already a huge construction site, and we can only take a look at it from a distance outside the fence. Right here is a larger-scale and more invested B&B complex project. Under construction. In the next three years, Langshu Village will become a new rural community complex integrating pastoral B&B, cultural and creative arts, themed dining, rural theater, organic agriculture, and education and training. The overall project area is approximately 30 acres. The planned investment amount reaches 210 million yuan.

On the Internet, some people call the future Langshu Village the "Mogan Gang Base Camp". From the drawings, Langshu Village will copy the existing business format of Moganshan. A large number of high-quality brands that have appeared in the Moganshan B&B cluster before, such as "Da Le Zhi Ye", "Original House", "Lostcafé", etc., will all settle in Langshu Village. Zhu Shengxuan, the founder of Qianshan's "Sumeng", will lead his partners to create a new pastoral dream here.

As more and more industrial and commercial capital take a fancy to Songyang, this treasure land. Nowadays, the best rural construction teams, designers, and homestay makers in the country have gathered here, and started vigorous community construction in the form of "homestays". In the next few years, perhaps the success of Pingtian Village will be easily overturned. Beyond. It is said that Songyang will become the next Moganshan, maybe we can wait and see.

Songyang is popular, but this is just the beginning. People from the local tourism department told me that rural tourism is not. This is not the ultimate goal. What Songyang wants to do is to comprehensively revitalize the countryside led by culture, and then form a benign rural development model, rather than just creating one or two popular B&B villages. Everything needs to continue, and Songyang is still making efforts.

This article was published in "Private Geography" of The Paper