Jiexia Estate
2 min read“Receiving the Sunset Glow Retreat’ The three dwellings thrived and became known as a romantic enclave over the next 200 years.
Not as old as Luyi Tang, but similarly mythical, Jie Xia Zhuang (Jiexia Estate) is a charming hideaway located a kilometer or so west of Luyi Tang, with a rustic allure and an origin story that should tickle the fancy of those with a sense of the supernatural. The injustice is that tourists and the younger generations of the locals tend to favor more famous scenic and cultural attractions in Doumen, making this village a whistle stop, given only a cursory glance at best or totally ignored at worst.
According to legend, the founding fathers of Jiexia Estate were Zhao Ruokun and his son Weimao, living in the Daoguang years of the Qing Dynasty(early 19th century) and building the family fortune through a TCM pharmacy business. Seeking a new place to settle down, the family chanced to find what they believed to be a private Xanadu. They built three rammed-earth houses on a clearing that nestles at the northern slope of Xiashan Hill(“Evening Glow Hill”), believing that the misty clouds whirling around the forests were an auspicious sign. The three dwellings thrived and became known as a romantic enclave over the next 200 years. The original name “Zhao’s Village” gave way to a more charming moniker “Jie Xia Zhuang” (“jie xia” meaning, “taking in the evening glow”).
An attractive and comforting feature of this primitive but soothing village is a moat-style stream, stretching around the village for 350 meters and making it a world of its own. The dwellings stand as they did hundreds of years ago and, while the ravages of time have undoubtedly taken their toll on the slumping rooftops and faded walls, the natural decline only adds to their authentic beauty.
Surveying the village’s mesmerizing beauty of fine architecture and intricate landscaping, one can almost believe in the witchcraft of the mysterious clouds that fascinated the villager’s ancestors in the first place. It seems that the clouds are still wielding magic today, protecting the Shangri-la from gentrification and the restless onslaught of modernity.
