Chuandixia Village

Situated in a remote, steeply-sided valley 90 kilometers west from Beijing, Chuandixia is the village that time forgot. It has been set up at a southwestern slope of mountain along an ancient post road. The clan village was inhabited by Han's family in the late Ming dynasty. Its population was dramatically decreased during the anti-Japanese War when most of the young villagers died, and is 70 people, as now. The houses of the village show how variously the geometric form of Siheyuan can be transformed according to the topographical conditions of sites. Surrounded by terraced fields on steep slopes, the stone village has steps instead of streets that connect traditional courtyard homes, many of which still have faded Maoist slogans dating from the Cultural Revolution. The village is a world away from the bustling modern metropolis of ‘nearby’ Beijing.