Zhuqiao Old Village 竹桥古村

About Zhuqiao Old Village

Set about ten kilometres north of the county seat, Zhuqiao preserves 109 old buildings: ancestral halls, an academy, woodblock-printing workshops and the studios and houses of officials who retired home. Among them are five ancestral halls, four gate-towers, three old wells and two surviving printing workshops, together with a paved lane known as the 'Tianren Ben' road, whose name expresses the ideas of unity between heaven and humanity and of putting people first. Seven ponds, the central one crescent-shaped, form a 'seven stars around the moon' arrangement that the county singles out as the village's distinctive pond culture.

Zhuqiao was the birthplace and chief printing centre of the 'Jinxi books', with the Yu Dawen Tang, run by Zhuqiao people, the earliest and largest of the firms. Complete carved blocks for the Three Character Classic, the Hundred Family Surnames and the Four Books with Collected Commentaries are still kept in the village and can still be used to print thread-bound volumes. The county presents the village as a record of a rural society in which farming, commerce and scholarship were pursued together. It was named a national historic and cultural village in 2010 and a national 4A scenic area in 2017.

What to look for

• The two surviving woodblock-printing workshops and their carved blocks for the Three Character Classic, Hundred Family Surnames and Four Books
• The five ancestral halls and four gate-towers among the 109 surviving old buildings
• The seven ponds in the 'seven stars around the moon' layout, with the crescent pond at the centre
• The paved 'Tianren Ben' lane

Location & getting there

Getting to Zhuqiao Old Village

Identify the main visitor approach and any separately managed houses, museums or performances. Ask before entering residential spaces or photographing residents.

• Search for 竹桥古村 with 抚州市 and 金溪县.