Shen’ao Ancient Town is primarily centered around Shen’ao Ancient Village, and also includes Xufan, Huanxi, and Dipu villages. The total area spans 10.5 hectares (with Shen’ao Ancient Village accounting for 7.5 hectares). These four villages are arranged in a line along the west bank of Yingjia Creek. Historically, Shen’ao and Dipu were collectively known as Shenpu, developed by the progenitor of the Shen family during the Southern Song Dynasty; Xufan was inhabited by the Jinhua Xu Yanwang during the Southern Song Dynasty and developed by the in-laws of the Shen family, with the majority of residents bearing the surnames Xu and Shen.
Huanxi Village was established during the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty when the great Confucian scholar Zhou Dunyi’s tenth-generation descendant, Zhou Lianxi, led his clan to settle here, and it has since thrived, named ‘Huanxi’ for its encirclement by two creeks, with the majority of residents having the surname Zhou. The Qing Dynasty was a period of rapid development for Shen’ao Village, with a group of merchants who became wealthy through the transportation of straw paper emerging in the mid-to-late Qing period. Most of the village’s architecture dates back to this era. The village is open year-round, with full-day access.Shen’ao Ancient Town
Shen’ao Ancient Town is primarily centered around Shen’ao Ancient Village, and also incl[...]
