Gaoyi Village

Gaoyi Village lies at the western foot of the Xuefeng Mountains along the Wushui River, a tributary of the Yuanshui River, 46 kilometres away from the county seat. Surrounded by mountains and rivers, the village presents a harmonious integration of heaven, hills, water, farmland, residents and dwellings, forming a picturesque landscape. The village now has 614 households with a total population of 2,314. It covers a total area of 21,000 mu, including 2,565 mu of rice fields and 18,000 mu of mountain forests.

The village first took shape in the Tang and Song dynasties, matured in the Yuan Dynasty, and flourished during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The core zone spans 21 hectares, with ancient buildings covering a construction area of 15,000 square metres. Seventy-five ancient residential houses remain intact and still in use. The earliest one was built in the 13th year of the Hongwu reign in the Ming Dynasty, spanning a history of more than 600 years. Eighty-five percent of the villagers are Dong people surnamed Yang, descendants of Yang Zaisi, Marquis of Weiyuan conferred in the Southern Song Dynasty. Every household enshrines the memorial tablet of "Heaven, Earth, State, Ancestors and Teachers" as well as ancestral spirit tablets, fostering strong ancestral clan culture. Over six centuries, the villagers have upheld the values of "building character with virtue and running a household with diligence", forming a fine family tradition of living an honest life and passing down farming and scholarly pursuits from generation to generation. The village boasts a wealth of well-preserved intangible cultural heritage. In particular, Gaoyi Nuo Opera "Carrying the Deity" originated from ancient witchcraft rituals and is hailed as "a living fossil of traditional operas".

Gaoyi has been highly praised by numerous experts as "the No.1 Ancient Village south of the Yangtze River", "a living fossil of ancient residential architecture", "a historical record of ancient village development", "a folk custom museum" and "a perfect model of farming-and-scholarship culture". The whole village was designated as a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level in 2006. It was named a National Historical and Cultural Village in 2007, included in the first batch of China’s Traditional Villages in 2012, and selected as one of the 51 national demonstration villages for the overall protection and development of traditional villages in 2014.

In September 2014, the county fully launched the overall protection and development project for Gaoyi Traditional Village, which was listed as a key project of Huaihua City in 2015. With a total investment of 540 million yuan, the project follows the development vision of "being able to see mountains, gaze at rivers and keep hometown memories alive". In accordance with the principles of living village protection, original ecological preservation, industrial support and cultural exploration, the project carries out a full range of sub-projects: conservation and renovation of cultural relics, comprehensive improvement of the village environment, inheritance of intangible cultural heritage, construction of protected new villages, upgrading of transportation infrastructure, building of comprehensive tourist service facilities, innovative village management, and development of supporting industries.

Thanks to attention and support from leaders at all levels, the protection and development of Gaoyi Traditional Village have achieved rapid progress, keeping the work on the right track and among the nation’s leading practices.