Hongcun Village is located at the foot of the southwest side of Mt. Huangshan, only 11 kilometers away from Yixian. The village now boasts 158 dwelling houses dating back to the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties; nearly 140 are still in good shape. It is a unique, buffalo-shaped ancient village in the ancient village.

As the villagers constructed an irrigation canal which intervening every house in the Song dynasty, every household in the village has easy access of the canal. The waterways of the village were supposed to be designed to provide source of washing water, even fire water in case of emergency. The whole village is shape like a big buffalo: the small water trenches (buffalo intestines) lead to every household and then flow into a pond (buffalo stomach) in the village; there, the water is filtrated and continue to circle within the village and then enters a lake (buffalo belly); through the lake, the water is filtrated again and finally flows into a river. This water system is really and unparalleled part of the village construction arts in ancient China.

The village features extraordinary. It has nice scenery, simple but elegant, a fine mixture of old houses, green hills and clear creeks, and enjoys the name "a village in the Chinese painting". All the buildings follow local architectural style, have exquisite carvings and are magnificent symbols of its time. They were built with fine craftsmanship that is regarded as the best in China. The Halls of Chengzhi, Jingxiu and Dongxian are very typical of that era. With marbled ground, black tiles, fresh red lanterns, elaborate wood-carvings and august toriis, they are reputed as “the Folk Imperial Palace”. Among them, Chenzhi Hall is a big and gorgeous residential building, including two living rooms, one Buddhism prayer section, one Majiang room and an opium cabinet, etc.

Hongcun Village was added to the list of the World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in late 2000.