【4K】Chinese traditional village: Shuidong Village, 600 years of history.

【4K】Chinese traditional village: Shuidong Village, 600 years of history.

Traditional Chinese villages Shuidong Village A historical and cultural village in Guangdong Province Shuidong Village Cheng Clan Ancestral Hall Many elderly people sitting at the entrance Chatting here An incense burner at the base of the wall With scattered incense sticks inside A niche for the incense burner on the wall A 300-year-old Luohan pine tree Traditional Chinese-style murals on the wall Xulun Hall An incense altar in the middle Portraits of their ancestors on the wall Colorful lanterns used for worship Exquisite clay carvings on the roof of the ancestral hall Exquisite clay carvings on the roof Alleys on both sides of the ancestral hall Ancient dock A large banyan tree here Incense burning in front Two large characters pasted on the tree “Hongfu” (Great Fortune) There’s an ancient Chinese idiom “Hongfu Qitian” (Fortune as Vast as the Heavens) A prayer for blessings Ancient house No one lives here anymore All traditional ancient villages in China Face a serious problem The younger generation Prefers to move to cities to live Many ancient villages No longer have schools So Population loss is an inevitable trend The ancient residences in the village Are well-preserved The roads are paved with bricks Covered with green moss Old houses with no residents Deteriorate very quickly The old houses here Truly just preserve the memory of history This alley is very narrow About one meter wide Houses neatly lined up on both sides No one lives here But It’s become a paradise for plants These flowers are blooming vibrantly This house has completely become a ruin Small trees are starting to grow on the walls The alley runs deep There’s still one household living here An old man lives here I speak Mandarin, but he can’t understand Drinking water is still carried in from outside Brought in with buckets This is an earthen stove Still burning wood The old man’s bedroom is probably upstairs Let’s go up and see There’s no bed up here either I don’t know where the old man lives Or maybe this house is no longer lived in He just comes back occasionally to check Oh, found it Turns out the old man’s bedroom is on the first floor In here This is his bedroom A two-story building The old houses are mostly empty A few households still have people living Look at this The grass is growing so tall Taller than a person This house has such a big crack It’s probably a dangerous building This old house No one lives here It’s really collapsing badly Only a few households have people living The old houses here Are relatively well-preserved A cluster of old houses The dog is so fierce Incense Hanqi Cheng Clan Ancestral Hall Guangdong people especially love building ancestral halls They believe Ancestors can bless future generations Everyone in this village is surnamed Cheng They’ve built so many different ancestral halls Puquan Cheng Clan Ancestral Hall This is a Qing Dynasty building Han people in Guangdong When their children get married They put festive couplets Inside the ancestral hall This was probably not long ago A couple got married Their family Pasted festive couplets inside Duqing Hall Many “happiness” characters above In the center is “Hard Work Leads to Success” God “Heroic Staff Soars, Dragon Wags Tail” “Mighty Fist Strikes, Tiger Raises Head” This village May have a martial arts tradition The eaves of the roof Traditional Lingnan-style architecture There’s graffiti here “Wishing everyone a Happy New Year” “All the best” An ancient village A village that thrived for hundreds of years Thinking back to those days It was bustling with people But in just a few decades of China’s economic development Everything has changed I haven’t been to Europe But I’m thinking I’ve heard Europe has many ancient castles and old houses Preserved for thousands of years These houses in China Have also been preserved for centuries But people still live in European houses Oh, this road is so slippery The houses here Look All empty No one lives here So frankly speaking Our ancient Chinese people Built houses Just for survival Not For comfortable living If they were comfortable to live in Lasting for centuries Up to now They wouldn’t be outdated Perhaps 50 years ago You can imagine These alleys With children running and playing Elders returning from the fields Resting at the door Very, very lively But In just a few decades This place has turned into ruins Chinese people Especially the Han people Like the new and dislike the old This is a big bad habit Old houses, though very good Are not suitable for living So in the end They are ruthlessly abandoned by the times Look at these houses Now all overgrown with weeds A scene of desolation These winding alleys Back in the day Were a paradise for children’s play Now There’s no elementary school in the village So the younger generation Has moved to the county or town May and June Are the rainy season in Guangdong It rained heavily yesterday So even though the road is dry now It’s still very slippery

On May 8, 2025, I visited this small village.

The well-preserved ancient residences from the Ming and Qing dynasties are mostly vacant, with only a few still occupied by elderly people, while some have become ruins.

Here, I saw many ancestral halls. In Guangdong, social relationships centered around family ties are the primary form of interpersonal connection, and ancestral halls serve as the main venues for family gatherings.

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