Dangjia Village 党家村

About Dangjia Village

Stone-paved lanes weave between the enclosed homes, making the relationship between street, doorway and inner courtyard the main subject of a visit. The settlement prospered through both farming and trade, and many families share the Dang or Jia surname. Explore the lanes slowly and enter only courtyards that are identified as open to visitors, since the village remains a residential place.

The village was founded in 1331 in an east-west, gourd-shaped valley shaped like a boat, with its house plans following traditional yin-yang principles; it originally had more than 330 households and about 1,400 people. During the Qing dynasty its combined farming and commercial economy earned it the name 'Little Hancheng' (小韩城). It was listed as a national key cultural relic protection unit in June 2001 and named a Chinese Historical and Cultural Village in 2003. In April 1989, a 300-year-old theatre building in the village was demolished.

The village lies about 9 kilometers northwest of Hancheng's urban area and 3.5 kilometers east of the Yellow River, on the north side of the Bi River (泌水) valley. Its more than 100 surviving courtyard houses, mostly in Ming and Qing style, are linked by more than twenty stone- or cobble-paved lanes. Main surviving structures include an ancestral temple, the tall Wenxingge, old stone roadways, and a defensive system of city walls and the Biyang Fort.

What to look for

• The Ming and Qing courtyard-house groups, with their enclosed plans and street-facing gateways.
• The stone- and cobble-paved lane network following the village’s valley setting.

Location & getting there

Getting to Dangjia Village

Travel to Dangjia Village in Xizhuang Town, northwest of Hancheng’s urban area.

• Use the village’s designated visitor arrival point and continue through the old lanes on foot; private residential courtyards require permission.