Hunan Yongxing Niutou Ancient Village

Niutou Village, formerly known as Niutouxia or Niutouwan, derives its name from a massive rock shaped like an ox head in the pond before the village. Flanked by Shenxian'ao Ridge on the left and Xiangxing Ridge on the right, with a meandering stream flowing past its front, this picturesque village boasts over 500 years of history. According to the "He Family Genealogy," Niutou was originally an Ouyang clan settlement during the Ming Dynasty. A grandson from the neighboring He family, while tending cattle, was persuaded by a feng shui master and convinced his parents to purchase land from his grandfather to build a home. Through farming and enterprise, the He clan flourished, growing to over 7,000 descendants who established four additional villages. Meanwhile, the Ouyang family declined, leaving only two households today. The village preserves over 100 ancient structures from the Qing Dynasty to Republican era, covering 21,000 square meters. These two-story brick-wood buildings feature gable firewalls, soaring horse-head walls with upturned eaves, gray tiles, and whitewashed interiors. Typical southern Hunan dwellings, they follow a three-hall, three-bay layout with side rooms flanking the front hall, central passageways leading through courtyards to rear halls, and back chambers accessible via side doors. Centered around the He Clan Ancestral Hall built during the Xianfeng reign (1850-1861), the southeastern sector's buildings face southwest in neat three-row, four-column formations, while the northwestern sector shows irregular orientations and larger footprints, reportedly built by merchants and gentry. These interconnected residences form tight clusters. Designated among China's fifth batch of traditional villages. Villager He Kun graduated from the fourth class of Whampoa Military Academy and secretly joined the Communist Party in 1926 under Zhou Enlai's influence. In spring 1930, he was tasked with establishing the 14th Corps of the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army in Rugao, Jiangsu, serving as its commander. He died heroically at age 32 during the Battle of Laohuzhuang on April 16, 1930. The solemn Revolutionary Martyrs' Memorial Tower on the village hillside stands as eternal tribute from his homeland.