Road Trip to Yingkeng Village (Part 1)

Nestled in the folds of Huizhou's landscape lies the ancient village of Yingkeng. Unlike the tourist-packed memorial archways of She County or the bustling old residences of Tangyue, this hidden gem offers rare tranquility that reveals Huizhou's most authentic essence. Passing through the sacred feng shui woods at the village entrance, time seems to slow down. A picturesque covered bridge spans the stream like a framed painting amidst emerald mountains—this is Yingkeng's most iconic heritage site, Yong'an Bridge. Originally built during the Ming Dynasty and later restored in the Qing Dynasty while preserving its original character, locals affectionately call it the "Bench Bridge" for its three main beams resembling a farmer's stool. Beneath ancient trees, intricate swastika carvings (symbolizing infinite blessings) still adorn the weathered wooden pillars. Village elders say Huizhou merchants would always stop here to tidy their appearance and wash away travel weariness in the stream below before returning home. Further along the flagstone path lie more surprises. Thirty-six Ming-Qing era dwellings cascade down the mountain hollow, their horse-head gables tracing a skyline like a frozen Huizhou folk song. Don't miss the brick carvings on House No. 18's gate tower—the "Five Bats Holding Longevity" motif remains vivid after four centuries. In afternoons, villagers spread freshly picked chrysanthemums across the ancestral hall's drying yard, creating golden oceans against white walls and black tiles—a scene straight from an ink painter's palette. My childhood friend showed us his ancestral home, where sunlight turned courtyard moss into jade. "See these mortise-tenon joints?" he pointed at the beam framework. "No nails, yet survived three earthquakes." Upstairs held family heirlooms—pearwood carving molds and tin pots that elsewhere would be museum pieces, but here remain part of daily life. When woodfire cooking aromas wafted through, I finally understood the saying: "Where chimney smoke curls, nostalgia stirs." At dusk, villagers gather on the bridge sharing tales. Eighty-year-old Granny Huang fanned herself while recounting: "Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang rested here during his conquest!" Though unverified, such oral histories feel more alive than textbooks. As night falls, the bridge's century-old red lantern illuminates, its reflection in the stream pulsing like a heartbeat. If Huizhou is a weighty tome, Yingkeng is its yellowed poetry page. No itinerary needed—just observant eyes for the plantains growing stubbornly in stone cracks, the tabby cats sunbathing by walls, or the polished flagstone pedestals before ancestral halls. While urbanites queue at trendy spots, come listen to stories whispered by the stones in this living ancient village.