This thousand-year-old ancient village surrounded by mountains and rivers was once the most prosperous place in Wuyuan, but now it is deserted and lonely.

This is Xiao Yu’s travel diary, stop and go, and watch Wuyuan with me.

If you just walk into a village in Wuyuan, you will have unexpected gains. They may have a paradise-like beauty, may have amazing ancient Huizhou architecture, or may have a profound Huizhou culture… Wangkou Village is one of them.

Wangkou is a scenic spot on the east line of Wuyuan Tourism, but it is often overlooked by tourists. There are not only the famous “Huangling” on the east line, and the earliest famous “Li Keng” in Wuyuan. Although this village is also included in the Wuyuan 5-day tour package, not many tourists come here. When we came here, looking at this authentic ancient village surrounded by mountains and rivers, it is hard to imagine that this was once the most prosperous place in Wuyuan.

Wangkou Village is a village dominated by the surname Yu. It has been more than 1,100 years since the relocation of the tribe led by Yu Gao, a doctor of the Song Dynasty, in 1110 AD (the third year of Song Daguan). The two rivers in front of Wangkou Village meet, face water on three sides, surrounded by mountains, and the scenery is beautiful.

Wangkou Village got its name because of the clear water and the long flowing water. During the period of relying on water transportation, Wangkou became an important land and water terminal of Huizhou Prefecture, an important route between north and south, and has the reputation of “ancient commercial port in a thousand years”.

In the eighth year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (AD 1375), the Ming Dynasty government set up a “post” in Wangkou to deliver official documents and materials, becoming the first official “post office” in Wuyuan’s history. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Wangkou shops were lined up with merchants, and ships from north to south sold the good tea here at home and abroad. At this time, Wangkou became a “window” for Wuyuan to communicate with the outside world, and it was prosperous for a while.

However, with the decline of water transportation, Wang Kou gradually faded out of the stage of history. This once extremely prosperous Huizhou commercial port has finally become lonely. When we came to Wangkou, our first feeling was the tranquility here.

This tranquility stems from the quietness of Wangkou, surrounded by mountains and rivers, from the simplicity and loneliness of the ancient village, and probably also from the lack of tourists.

Today’s Wangkou is not big, only a thousand-year-old street. The old street is paved with bluestone and narrow and cramped. Along the way, you will encounter ancient houses such as “Yijingtang”, “Mao Detang”, “Doctor Di” and “Yangshuwu”, but the most worth seeing is that the village is built on the east side facing the water. Yu’s ancestral hall.

Wangkou was once a prosperous business, which also led to the prosperity of talents here. In the first year of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty (1736 AD), Yu Yinglun, a tribe who was an official in Beijing, returned to his native province and took the lead in donating funds to build the famous “Yu’s Ancestral Hall”. Now this ancient building has also become a national key cultural relics protection unit.

“Yu’s Ancestral Hall” is grand in scale, with a total area of ​​1116 square meters, rectangular shape, 15.6 meters wide, 42.6 meters deep, sitting from the northwest to the southeast. The overall building is made of the valuable local camphor tree material in Wuyuan and exquisite three-carving craftsmanship. It’s still awe-inspiring. In a secluded courtyard next to the ancestral hall, a century-old golden osmanthus tree and a century-old silver osmanthus tree have also become a unique landscape.

Walking out of the Yu’s ancestral hall, you can see another unique landscape in Wangkou-a 120-meter-long “Pingdu Weir”. The “Pingdu Weir” designed by Qing dynasty scholar and phonologist Jiang Yong is a masterpiece in the history of water conservancy construction in my country. The southern end is docked, and the northern end is a 6-meter-wide boat and boat channel with the waste razor clams in Yanshan and the dangerous tritium marsh. Pingdu Weir solves the contradiction between water storage, boating, and water pressure reduction at the same time without a gate. The completion of Pingdu Weir enabled Wangkou to form 18 Hebu wharves for the transshipment of goods, and this also illustrates the prosperity of Wangkou from the side.

When we came, we walked along the ancient street. When we returned, we walked along the river embankment and saw many old people washing vegetables in the river, full of life. What is rare is that the river water in Wangkou is still clear and green. Wangkou is not the once prosperous Wangkou, but it is still the watery Wangkou…

Finally, I will talk about some useful travel information, friends who want to come can refer to:

1. Wangkou is included in the Wuyuan 5-day travel package, if the ticket is purchased separately, it is 60 yuan/person.

2. Wangkou is located on the east line of Wuyuan Tourism, between Jiangwan and Likeng. The transportation is very convenient. It is more than 20 kilometers away from Wuyuan County. There are many tourist shuttle buses passing by from the county to Wangkou. Not expensive, about 10 yuan/person.

If you want to learn more about popular and fun tourist destinations, you are welcome to pay attention to “Xiaoyu’s Travel Diary”. Let’s discover more beautiful scenery in the world with Xiaoyu!