Jiangtouzhou Ancient Dwellings
Jiangtouzhou Ancient Dwellings
4.2
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
4.2
13 reviews
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Leonhkny
Hong Kong, China23,909 contributions
Apr 2024 • Family
Around an hour driving from downtown Guilin comes this secluded and unspoiled village. Jiangtouzhou is the home of the Zhou clan, whose Song-era ancestor Zhou Dunyi is a renowned scholar known for his honesty and integrity. Many of his descendants became notable officials in the Qing dynasty and had left footprints in the village. Today Jiangtouzhou remains a serene and humble place where family honor is valued. A stroll around the restored houses is like a step into the past. Do not miss it when in Guilin.
Written April 22, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
AllanJane_11
Melbourne, Australia459 contributions
May 2015 • Family
We were on our second visit to Guilin so wanted to visit places that were not usually frequented by tourists.
Our friends brought us to this ancient village as part of a day out in the country.
This village is about an hour from Guilin so you would need to organise a driver or hire a taxi. Most hotels can organise this through the concierge.
This village is still occupied by the descendants of the original scholar who resided here approx 600 years ago. We paid a small fee to be informed of the history of this place. If you do not speak Chinese you will need someone to translate for you.
We found the history of the place to be interesting and were impressed to see stone tablets which were several hundred years old in the main building. We were free to roam the alleyways to look at the houses, a number of which are still being lived in. One house had a new door with a poster/ Chinese symbols for newly weds.
One of our friends explained that the mortar used in building these buildings was made from a source of stone which is very strong hence the buildings are still standing in relatively good condition. It was fascinating to see that water supply was still a pump outside the house.
After looking around the village we crossed the river/stream and walked along a path which passed by a monument to the women of the village. There are two lovely carved archways to view also. The path passed lotus ponds.
For us, it was fascinating to be transported back in time to simple village life.
Whilst there are no eating places in the village there are picnic tables where you can sit to eat a packed lunch
If you return to the main road you can go further on to lovely scenic spots.
Our friends brought us to this ancient village as part of a day out in the country.
This village is about an hour from Guilin so you would need to organise a driver or hire a taxi. Most hotels can organise this through the concierge.
This village is still occupied by the descendants of the original scholar who resided here approx 600 years ago. We paid a small fee to be informed of the history of this place. If you do not speak Chinese you will need someone to translate for you.
We found the history of the place to be interesting and were impressed to see stone tablets which were several hundred years old in the main building. We were free to roam the alleyways to look at the houses, a number of which are still being lived in. One house had a new door with a poster/ Chinese symbols for newly weds.
One of our friends explained that the mortar used in building these buildings was made from a source of stone which is very strong hence the buildings are still standing in relatively good condition. It was fascinating to see that water supply was still a pump outside the house.
After looking around the village we crossed the river/stream and walked along a path which passed by a monument to the women of the village. There are two lovely carved archways to view also. The path passed lotus ponds.
For us, it was fascinating to be transported back in time to simple village life.
Whilst there are no eating places in the village there are picnic tables where you can sit to eat a packed lunch
If you return to the main road you can go further on to lovely scenic spots.
Written June 8, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
_Matea_2411
Groningen, The Netherlands260 contributions
Nov 2014 • Couples
With only a guide book in our hands we have decided to reach this village eventhough our chinese is quite limited. Since the taxis didnt want to go for below 200 RMB we have decided to take the bus adventure. First two buses you pay 2 RMB. First we took bus 99 to xinjiang square from guilin train station, there we changed for bus 301 and we went with the bus to Lingchuan (30 minutes drive with bus 301 frimn xunjiang square) after you reach Lingchuan (ask the bus driver is it Lingchuan stop - for this trip go prepared with all the names written in chinese). After reaching Lingchuan cross the street - and there you need to stop a grey minivan and ask him to go to Jiuwu (5 RMB per person). After reaching Jiuwu there is 10-15 minutes easy walk to Jiangtouzhou. You will see no tourists there - bring your own food there is no restaurant there.
On the entrance to the village we wanted to see this confucius college for which locals charged us 20 RMB per person which I consider too much but we did not know what to expect. There are no explanations its just quite good kept wooden infrastructure but overpriced.
After that we enjoyed walking around this village a lot, in this village I felt really sad that my chinese was not better, cause we were invited for lunch to local home - but didnt know how to properly respond.
Since Guilin in our opinion didnt have any attractions worth visit we decided to take adventure trip here.
On the entrance to the village we wanted to see this confucius college for which locals charged us 20 RMB per person which I consider too much but we did not know what to expect. There are no explanations its just quite good kept wooden infrastructure but overpriced.
After that we enjoyed walking around this village a lot, in this village I felt really sad that my chinese was not better, cause we were invited for lunch to local home - but didnt know how to properly respond.
Since Guilin in our opinion didnt have any attractions worth visit we decided to take adventure trip here.
Written November 9, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ping L
Timaru847 contributions
Nov 2016 • Solo
Talking about away from beaten track, this is as good as it gets. This is a photographer's dream. The village is tiny and settled by a prominent scholar by the surname of Zhou (akin to Zhou Yuen Fatt). Many of the descendants here do very well for themselves and the original ancient house is still there, and for interested parties, you can pay a donation to enter into the original residence. Otherwise, it's okay just to take a glimpse from the outside. The original historical part of the village is the bit that most travellers and tourists are interested in. They are made with mud and stones, and they are put together precariously. Some buildings are on the verge of collapsing. There are quite a number of buildings that are being restored at the moment, and by asking the local builders, they explained that it's been backed by the Government to preserve its cultural heritage. The Government reasoned that preservation of ancient buildings are good in terms of retaining local population and providing them with a livelihood of catering to tourism. Mind you, the primary industry here is planting rice, and that will always be the main source of income here. However, as you wander further inside, ancient buildings are starting to be replaced by solar panel street lights and boxy multi storey modern buildings devoid of any architectural merit. Along the horizon, you get to be reminded that you are still within the Guilin's famous karst limestone hills, and that there are fields and fields of cumquat. Local people have understood the merit of tourism, and now, they have built themselves a entrance fee collection point just a kilometre down from the village. You definitely need local people to bring you here as the sign pointer directing you to this place has since been taken down due to road construction. Commendable visit though.
Written November 23, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
OliverH
Canberra, Australia95 contributions
Dec 2013 • Friends
I visited in 2009 so this might be out of date, this village was interesting but a bit off the beaten track. We ended up hiring a taxi for several hours from Guilin which wasnt too expensive (I think Y120 from memory) and Im glad we did because not speaking Chinese I doubt we would have navigated public transport.
Its not an organised tourist attraction in the sense there's no particular signs or booth and we didnt see other people (lucky our driver waited 2 hrs), but we were met out front by a local who couldn't speak English but showed us around (Im not sure if guide is compulsory, I think so, and its only fair to provide some income for them if you are traipsing around their village). There was some interesting architecture and people going about daily village lives, we also did a short walk around a rice paddy and hung out for a bit, all in all it was worth the trip. No shops I can recall so bring food and water.
Its not an organised tourist attraction in the sense there's no particular signs or booth and we didnt see other people (lucky our driver waited 2 hrs), but we were met out front by a local who couldn't speak English but showed us around (Im not sure if guide is compulsory, I think so, and its only fair to provide some income for them if you are traipsing around their village). There was some interesting architecture and people going about daily village lives, we also did a short walk around a rice paddy and hung out for a bit, all in all it was worth the trip. No shops I can recall so bring food and water.
Written November 1, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
awayoverthere
Glasgow, UK252 contributions
Oct 2014 • Couples
From research, the buildings in this village are up to 1,000 years old. Some seemed to be empty and others looked like they could still have people living in them - some were difficult to tell the difference.
To get there, leave the train station in Guilin, turn right until the end of the road, right again & get the 301 bus to Tan Xia lu kou (lo kou means crossing).
Then cross the road and on the corner, there's a few clapped out vans aka mini buses which go to Jiuwu (ask your hostel or hotel to give you the name in Chinese and the mini bus folk will let you know when you're there).
Walk along the road, through the big white arch way and you are there.
So, the village itself is fairly quiet. It's difficult to know how many houses are occupied but there are some people out working the fields.
It's non touristy so very quiet. We took a walk over the river and there was a local school which taught English to the kids so we had some of them walking with us at some point while practicing their English.
There was no sign of a shop in the village but when you get off the mini bus, there's a few places to eat and drink so stock up before you go.
To get there, leave the train station in Guilin, turn right until the end of the road, right again & get the 301 bus to Tan Xia lu kou (lo kou means crossing).
Then cross the road and on the corner, there's a few clapped out vans aka mini buses which go to Jiuwu (ask your hostel or hotel to give you the name in Chinese and the mini bus folk will let you know when you're there).
Walk along the road, through the big white arch way and you are there.
So, the village itself is fairly quiet. It's difficult to know how many houses are occupied but there are some people out working the fields.
It's non touristy so very quiet. We took a walk over the river and there was a local school which taught English to the kids so we had some of them walking with us at some point while practicing their English.
There was no sign of a shop in the village but when you get off the mini bus, there's a few places to eat and drink so stock up before you go.
Written October 24, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Arnold C
San Francisco, CA651 contributions
Nov 2019
There are many heritage type venues which receive preservation and this is a gem which one must visit while in Guilin. It is truly amazing and reflects the protective nature of villages of the time period.
Written December 6, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hello_Dude
Chiang Mai, Thailand252 contributions
Apr 2017 • Couples
When we visited here there was basically nobody there- it appeared to be almost completely abandoned. It was kind of an artistic experience in this abandoned village on a grey, cold, windy day, but other than that it does not have much to do to recommend itself if you have been to any other place in China with historical architecture. Also, locals are now trying to charge 20 yuan to get in which seems to be a trend in China of charging to go to every little place of any value whatsoever.
Also, some guidebooks claim that there is accommodation available nearby but seriously, do not subject yourself to this abject, dirty accommodation and get back to Guilin before nightfall.
Also, some guidebooks claim that there is accommodation available nearby but seriously, do not subject yourself to this abject, dirty accommodation and get back to Guilin before nightfall.
Written April 23, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
TwoKatz
Metchosin, Canada1,547 contributions
Mar 2016 • Couples
I requested our tour guide take us here and if you have plenty of time in the area I recommend it. If not, get down to Yangshuo and stay there.
From Guilin it took a good hour and half to drive there and the drive wasn't very interesting. The village itself is being renovated in a good way but is for all purposes a tourist village where you, as a local or foreign tourist, pay admission to enter.
We were met by a local guide - a very pleasant middle aged woman actually living in the village - who escorted us around the village and surrounds in a very relaxed manner so we had lots of time to look. There are some very pretty vistas and interesting historic buildings of 'old' China to see.
From Guilin it took a good hour and half to drive there and the drive wasn't very interesting. The village itself is being renovated in a good way but is for all purposes a tourist village where you, as a local or foreign tourist, pay admission to enter.
We were met by a local guide - a very pleasant middle aged woman actually living in the village - who escorted us around the village and surrounds in a very relaxed manner so we had lots of time to look. There are some very pretty vistas and interesting historic buildings of 'old' China to see.
Written February 14, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
neuogenisis
Melbourne, Australia24 contributions
Dec 2015 • Couples
We rented top quality (friendly mechanic) pushbikes from ride giant in Guilin and rode 35km (note lonely planet states 25km) to this wonderful town. Mostly flat but you should, if riding, leave as early as possible to make the most of the day.
This town is currently being partially renovated and we were lucky due to some of it being a construction site to be able to walk inside houses, some still with furnishings and personal items left after the inhabitants left.
Well worth the trip. There is a very old town also on the way on the west side of the road perhaps half way that can be visited also.
You may be able to attend via public transport, please check.
This town is currently being partially renovated and we were lucky due to some of it being a construction site to be able to walk inside houses, some still with furnishings and personal items left after the inhabitants left.
Well worth the trip. There is a very old town also on the way on the west side of the road perhaps half way that can be visited also.
You may be able to attend via public transport, please check.
Written January 17, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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