Meipi Village

( chinadaily.com.cn )

Updated: 2011-09-30

The archway and entrance of the Meipi village

Meipi village, located in the southeast part of Ji'an city, is an ancient village in Ji'an, 30 kilometers from downtown. It was awarded a national AAAA-level scenic spot in 2008.

Meipi ancient village was founded in the early period of Southern Song Dynasty, nearly one thousand years ago. Besides the army headquarters of the Fourth Red Army, former residence of Mao Zedong, you can also find 367 historic buildings of Ming and Qing dynasties which are all well-preserved in the village.

The surname Liang is popular among the villagers and Yongmu Hall (the Liang ancestral hall) is a popular spot in Meipi village. The building still looks primitive and elegant, though it was renovated several times after it was first built in the Song Dynasty. Each year, on the first day of the second lunar month, the dragon dance, lion dance and Caizhi (a unique performance in Meipi village) are performed in front of the gate of the Yongmu Hall and the memorial archways. Yongmu Hall was once the army headquarters of the Fourth Red Army in February 1930.

Yongmu Hall was the Liang ancestral hall and once the army headquarters of the Fourth Red Army in February 1930.

Inside the ancestral hall

The ancient village now has 582 residential houses, 367 buildings of Ming and Qing dynasties, more than 600 households, over 2800 villagers, five ancient ancestral halls, four ancient academies, one ancient temple, one ancient pavilion, three ancient memorial archways and a 900-meter long ancient street.

Many residential houses are decorated in stone, wood and tile carvings inside. Commercial activities mainly take place in Pitou ancient street. The street is paved with cobblestones and flagstones.

The street is paved with cobblestones and flagstones.

In addition, Meipi ancient village is also a "film village", as many large-scale movies and TV dramas with the theme of revolutionary history were shot here, such as Sparkling Red Star and Jinggang Mountain.

The local government has put a lot of effort into protecting Meipi ancient village, hoping to preserve not only the buildings after a thousand years, but also the living environment that matches the ancient village，although modern elements are excepted, for instance: air conditioners may be installed if they are boxed by a wooden frame.

Meipi village has received over 10 thousand tourists recently. Its reputation as well as its income from tourism has steadily increased over the years.

Meipi village still maintains its ancient image.