Geography

The 145-km-long Nanxi River is located in the southeastern part of Zhejiang province. The river runs from north to south and flows between Yandang Mountain on the east and Kuocang Mountain on the west, with a drainage area of 2,472 sq km.

The river lies in a subtropical monsoon zone, enjoying a warm and moist climate and a 283-day frost-free period. With the average temperature of 18.2 C, the valley is perfect for the growth of evergreen forest and various fruits.

Culture

The scenery along the river is simple, natural and charming. Many local scholar-officials in the old days associated their life philosophy with the beautiful scenery. Moreover, they valued the so-called gengdu lifestyle, which literally means "being a farmer and a scholar at the same time". And they passed down the belief from generation to generation.

The peaceful life philosophy is also reflected in the local architectural style. The cottages, houses and gardens are simple and natural.

Almost all the villages in the Nanxi River were built based on kinship, which means villagers belonged to the same clan. Although they had some administrative organizations, in the agricultural society, clans played a more important role in social life.

Architecture

Many villages in the Nanxi River were carefully planned, taking into account location, drainage system, layout and defense.

The villages in the middle reaches of the Nanxi River were usually built on alluvial plains with fertile soil and abundant water, which was ideal for agriculture.

Then the villagers considered whether the location would suffer from floods, since typhoons and heavy rain arrived every summer, which often brought serious damage.

The third factor was safety. Many villagers migrated to the Nanxi River because of war, and they aimed to find a place where they could lead a peaceful life. Therefore, they preferred areas enclosed by mountains.

Xu Junqian and shao chenfang

(China Daily 08/15/2012 page19)