Flung up by a salt merchant, the Chengzhi Hall dates from 1855 and has 28 rooms, adorned with fabulous woodcarvings, 2nd-floor balconies and light wells. Peepholes on top-floor railings are for girls to peek at boy visitors and the little alcove in the mahjong room was used to hide the concubine. The now-faded gold-brushed carvings are said to have required 100 taels of the expensive stuff and took over four years to reach completion and full fruition.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
7 MILES
Typical of the elegant Huizhou style, Xidi’s 124 surviving buildings reflect the wealth and prestige of the prosperous merchants who settled here. Its…
13.95 MILES
When its granite peaks and twisted pines are wreathed in spectral folds of mist, the idyllic views of Huangshan (黄山; Huángshān) easily nudge it into the…
18.8 MILES
Designed around the bāguà, the eight trigrams of the I Ching, which match up with eight surrounding hills, Chengkan is a highly photogenic village that…
14.45 MILES
The summit's huge network of connecting trails and walks meander up, down and across several different peaks. More than a few visitors spend several…
24.67 MILES
Over generations, the Bao (鲍) family constructed these seven carved stone páifāng (牌坊, memorial arches), stretching east to west in the fields outside…
4.08 MILES
Xiuli, which opened in 2007, is a collection of 100-plus historic structures from around Yixian County that were left in ruins because their owners couldn…
8.72 MILES
Labyrinthine Nanping has a history of more than 1100 years. However, it's relatively recent history that draws most visitors, particularly film fans: much…
14.85 MILES
The vantage point for watching the Huangshan sunrise, five minutes’ walk from Beihai Hotel. Lucky visitors are rewarded with the luminous spectacle of…
Nearby Anhui attractions
1.65 MILES
Tachuan is a favourite with photographers, especially in the early spring, when the rapeseed blooms, and in the autumn, when the leaves of the old-growth…
2.38 MILES
A rich and dense forest of feathery bamboo, Mukeng is most famous as the setting for the breathtaking zero-gravity bamboo-top fight scenes in Crouching…
3. Yixian Xiuli Cinema Village
4.08 MILES
Xiuli, which opened in 2007, is a collection of 100-plus historic structures from around Yixian County that were left in ruins because their owners couldn…
4.43 MILES
First settled in the Tang dynasty, Pingshan was once the largest village in the county, with 38 ancestral halls and 13 archways. Its stature made it a…
7 MILES
Typical of the elegant Huizhou style, Xidi’s 124 surviving buildings reflect the wealth and prestige of the prosperous merchants who settled here. Its…
8.72 MILES
Labyrinthine Nanping has a history of more than 1100 years. However, it's relatively recent history that draws most visitors, particularly film fans: much…
10.19 MILES
This small village’s drawcard sights are the extravagant households (八大家, bādàjiā) of eight rich brothers. Each Qing-dynasty residence shares similar…
13.72 MILES
Located at 800m, this Huangshan temple's name literally means 'Halfway up the Mountain Temple'.