How come the once glorious Baojiazhuang in Huangshan has now become an “empty village”?

If you mention Huangshan, the first impression that many people may have is Huangshan, that is, "there are five mountains and there is no mountain left". However, what many people don’t know is that in addition to Huangshan, there is also one of the most worth exploring cultures in China, Huizhou culture. Huizhou architecture, Huizhou history, and Huizhou culture are all places worth exploring.

Baojiazhuang, Huangshan, Anhui, was once a glorious ancient village, but now it has become an empty village.

Huizhou once had a glorious history, but now many of Huangshan’s Ancient villages with glorious histories have fallen into decay and desolation. Many ancient villages in many places have become uninhabited villages. From now on, I will explore some ancient villages, even uninhabited villages, that had a certain influence in the Huangshan area but are now gradually declining. I have been to Jinzhuling Village before, the birthplace of Gongju. Today I will continue to tell you about an empty village.

This is Baojiazhuang located in the capital town of Shexian County. Not far from Shexian County, less than 6 kilometers. When I first heard about this village, a local friend told me about it. He said that there was an abandoned ancient village near the county seat of Shexian County. The Huizhou architecture in this village is very distinctive. His conversation piqued my interest. Yesterday, he drove to Baojiazhuang in the sunshine.

If you search for Baojiazhuang directly in Shexian County, this village may not be displayed on the map. Strictly speaking, this place is called Baojiazhuang in Baochuan Village, so if you want to go to this place, you must look for Baochuan Village. Baochuan Village is divided into new village and old village by highway. Baojiazhuang is next to Lianjiang, and Xincun is on the other side of the road.

Baojiazhuang is a branch of Tangyue Baojia. It is said that it was the Bao family's farm at that time. However, it became the residence of the surname Zhang. After asking local friends, they did not know when the Bao family would move. Follow this road and walk along the 150-meter-long Baojiazhuang Old Street. You will soon visit the entire Baojiazhuang. However, at a distance of 150 meters, there are two to three hundred square meters of Hui buildings on both sides. I have been to many ancient villages in Shexian County, and such buildings are still rare.

According to local villagers, in 2005, some developers wanted to develop here, so they bought most of the houses in the village, and the villagers moved out. However, it is said that there is a problem with the developer's capital chain and it is impossible to maintain only two old buildings for renovation. Later, the developer did not come, and the village remained so lonely.

The longer I stay in Huangshan, the more I regret it. The prosperity of Huizhou merchants also created a prosperous Huizhou village. However, with the desolation of Huizhou merchants, many villages that were originally separated from Huizhou merchants are now empty, and some have even become uninhabited villages. Apart from a sigh, we can only record these places that have left traces in history in our own way.

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