Region: 安徽Anhui

宏村图片Hongcun Village Pictures

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  Late afternoon. The crescent lake is much quieter than the South lake. Around the pool and surrounding it are the classical buildings, most of which are from the Qing dynasty. The area looks like a large interior, and feels very intimate. The cats come here, the dogs go to the South lake.

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  Late in the day, villagers often wash by the lake.

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  Late in the day, villagers would sit on the straight side of the lake.

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  Late evening. More washing. There is a small square close to the pool where people sit and eat dinner. The buildings around this pool are the best, I think. The distinctive white 马头墙 horsehead wall of Hui architecture is shown prominently here.

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  You follow the maze of canals throught the alleys into the village, and then you step into this large space; children are running around, a line of people circling the edge of the pool washing, on stone benches people chat quietly and round a table near the water a family is having their meal under the moonlight.

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  When late light shines down on here, it is magical.

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  As the evening gets closer to night, people disappear. The moon hangs above and shifts slightly on the still pool. A low hum sometimes echo around the building walls, which is now a subdued cyan. One or two cats would unexpectedly appear beside me, staring at the starless heaven. Now, Crescent lake is a dull mirror with a lidless eye. It is utterly otherworldly.

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  You live to a good old age the more you do.

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  After wandering through the labyrinth, you come to the heart of the whole thing and take a picture of yourself, or at least look at your reflection on the pool.

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  The arched doorway is common here which blends in nicely in this area.

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  Isn't it nice to have such a big sink.

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  It is nice to have a few large stones around as seats. It will be around when the next caveman comes back.

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  You know, the old woman always seems to be here.

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  The cats love this pool. This one moves toward the waters with calculated steps and froze on its edges. She got nothing.

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  The tour guides, in yellow shirts, are usually only available for groups, but I got one just for myself. She has been talking about the village and its details for so long, I think, that when she pointed and talked about something to me, she was doing so with her eyes closed.

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  Like 西递 Xidi, swarms of student artists comes to this place. I was told by one resident here that at one day there was a thousand students scratching here. These are university students from big cities such as Z杭州 Hangzhou, 南京 Nanjing and 北京 Beijing.

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  This area is the small square on the east side of the lake.

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