Taiji Well is also called Luosi Well

This is a pond next to the old house

Ancient houses in Yueling in the sunset

Walking through the ancient houses in Yueling, I found a unique Taiji well with a history of more than 200 years. Photo: Liu Guoxiong

The first stop for a self-driving tour on National Day is Yueling Village, Guanyang County, Guilin City. Some of the ancient houses here are well protected.

On the evening of October 3, I walked around in the ancient houses of Yueling. The long bluestone alley was full of twists and turns. Suddenly I found a pond inside the door of a blue brick house. The pond was surrounded by wooden railings and did not lead to the house. It was surrounded by the walls of the house. It gave people the intuitive feeling that the surrounding houses were built in the water. The surrounding Xiangnan-style houses are reflected in the water. It is just sunset. The whole feeling is really good, the years are peaceful and beautiful. Then the question arises, what is this pond used for? Is it to ward off evil spirits or to prevent fire? Is it for fish farming or is it part of the village water system?

In addition to ancient houses, there are also several old wells. For example, the more famous one is called Taiji Well. We continued to walk forward and saw this well. An old man in his 70s in the village told me that because there are twelve steps spiraling down here, it looks like a snail. This well is also called a snail well. This well was built in 1747 in the twelfth year of Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty and rebuilt in 1806 in the eleventh year of Jiaqing of the Qing Dynasty. In the twenty-first year of Jiaqing of the Qing Dynasty (1816), a "Stele of Building Taiji Well" was erected in this well. Now, the writing is still clear and recognizable. The old man said that the water from this well is now used to wash clothes.

After that, we also saw two large wells, which should also be used by villagers to wash clothes. Thinking of the fact that there are open ditches on the smooth and orderly blue stone roadside along the way, all this should constitute the village's advanced drainage system. It is said that there has been no flooding in the village for hundreds of years, nor has the waterways been blocked. This is really something that even modern cities cannot afford.

Walking forward, we found a large house. Unfortunately, we came late. The sky was already getting dark and we couldn't take photos. After we walked forward to the village, we saw that the village was quite large, so we decided to come back the next morning. Play again, because we had to go to the back mountain.

In the ancient houses of Yueling, there are open drainage ditches along the Qingshiban Road

A wall made of stone

There is a strange hole in the arch

There used to be a pond in there

The guardrails are all new, I think they were not there before

I can't figure out what this pond is for

I happened to see the sunset, but there was a new house behind me.

The sunset is very beautiful

Keep moving forward, there are still open ditches for drainage

This is a stone plate. It's used for washing clothes.

Looking back and seeing the stone plate, you know there is a water source

Sure enough, behind this wall is a well

This is the famous Tai Chi Well

Because it is shaped like Tai Chi and also like a snail, it gets its name

An old man in the village passed by and came to tell us that this well has a history of more than 200 years and is used for washing clothes.

The ancient well is protected by a wall

The tiled eaves behind the fence are very beautiful

These are all old houses too

This should be one of the six courtyards of Yueling Ancient Residential Houses, and the words "Long Live" are still clearly visible on the wall.

Unfortunately, it's getting dark and I can't see it for myself

Two more wells were found and a stone basin for washing clothes

Walking behind the village

On the hillside behind the village

This is a century-old tree

Villagers dry rice here