Protecting the past

Vendors with their fruit at the 'Bench of Beauty' on the bank of the Meixi River in Xiamei village. Photos by Zou Hong / China Daily

The old houses in the village are listed as cultural relics, but few are habitable because they have been so poorly maintained. The need for new houses is increasing rapidly.

"To meet people's needs and protect the old buildings, we have already worked out a plan to build new houses for the villagers in a separate location in a few years," said Ye Sheng, the manager of a local tourism company.

But for most of the old people, the village is their home and they are happy to stay there.

In addition to Xiamei, several villages nearby also consist of ancient buildings, many of which have fallen into rack and ruin. In Chengcun village, most of the ancient wooden houses have been torn down and replaced by new structures.

Xiamei was hit by a flood in 2011 and many of the buildings still show signs of water damage. Luckily most of the old buildings survived and local officials and businesspeople have pledged to ensure that protection of these ancient architectural treasures is at the top of the agenda, said Ye.

Key role in Tea's history

Nowadays, Xiamei village is just a dot on the map of China, but if you open a history of Chinese tea, you'll discover that the village once played a crucial role in the globalization of the beverage.

During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Xiamei was the first departure point for the export of Wuyi rock tea from Fujian province.

The early history revolves around the Meixi River, the shallow waterway that bisects the village. Xiamei is located on the lower reaches of the river, hence its name, xia, which means "lower" in English. Further upstream is a village called Shangmei, or "higher mei".