Location: Jinting Town, Wuzhong District, Suzhou
Founding Time: Before the Yuan Dynasty
Population: 358
Brief Introduction:
Houbu Village is located in the bay of Lake Tai in north-eastern part of Dongting Xishan Island. In ancient times, the village used to embrace the lake bay (the front bay) in the front while backed the dock behind. As a result, it was called Houbu(dock at the back). Surrounded by mountains, the village enjoys the elegant environment which perfectly integrates the ancient residence with modern dwellings.
Inside the village, there’s an ancient architecture complex in Qing dynasty, a double-well with long history and a 200-meter-long old path made of slate. Near the double-well, there are Chengzhi Tang ancient residence groups in Qing dynasty as well as some historical sites such as Jiefu Tang, Lunyi Tang, Yanyi Tang and the Temple of Filial Son Fei.
The arrangement, material, scale and style of the ancient architectures, as part of the surroundings, add more flavour to Houbu Village. These traditional buildings present an antique and simple beauty with broken mud walls, half-seen wooden structures and roofed black-tile pieces. Along the black-brick paths meandering in the hills, residences are spotted scarcely, in a casual but elegant manner.
