黄山－宏村／Huangshan - Hongcun

除了歙县，屯溪附近还有另一个有趣的小镇，即宏村。不过这儿离屯溪较远，需要两个小时的车程。虽然旅途遥远，但值得一去，单从宏村是中国美术学生的第一写生景点这一点来看，你就可以想象这里有多漂亮，这无疑是我在这次的中国行中最喜欢的地方之一。
Other than Shexian, there is another town nearby Tunxi which is worth visiting, i.e. Hongcun. This place is much further from Tunxi thought, taking two hours by bus, but the sights are definitely worth the efforts. Just from the fact that this is the number one choice for aspiring artists in China, you can imagine how beautiful this place is. This exquisite old village is also by far, my favorite place in China. 宏村与歙县有点类似，是徽族人居住的地方。这里保留的徽族房子比歙县更完整，年代更久远。和之前去的那些古城不同的是，宏村是原汁原味的，住在保留区的居民都是地道的宏村人，房子都是祖传的，而大部分人家都姓汪，住在这儿都有一两百年了。这里与歙县最大的差别在于它拥有漂亮的池塘。幸运的话，碰到游宏村时正好阳光普照，就像我那样，那就可以看到房子在池塘中漂亮的倒影，拍出很多漂亮的照片。
Hongcun and Shexian are pretty similar to a certain extent, both homes of the Hui people. However, Hongcun has finer examples of Hui housing of the two. Most importantly, it is not a recreated tourist site, but that of a real village, with people still living in their ancestral homes that are mostly 100 or 200 years old. Most of the families staying here take on the surname Wang. The unique part of this village is that you can find a few ponds, which makes for a great picture especially if it is a sunny day. 这里的村民不少利用自己家里的一小部分空间来卖烧饼、自制的手工艺品或是竹雕刻品等，有的人则把房子改为小餐馆或是民宿。有的则将自己的祖屋开放给人参观，让游客可以对他们的历史有多一点的了解。走进那些老房子内参观，就会发现它的设计和摆设与之前在歙县的非常类似，毕竟一样是属于徽族人。
You can find many villagers selling local snacks or souvenirs or bamboo carvings from their own doorsteps. Some cash in on the tourist crowd by converting their ancestral homes into inns or restaurants. Others simply open their doors for visitors free of charge, allowing tourists a glimpse of the history of this place. Since this are homes of the Hui people, the furniture or decorations found in the houses are naturally pretty similar to those found in Shexian. 村子的正中央有个大池塘，当地人就在这个池塘里洗衣服、洗碗等，有时还会有鹅的陪伴。
There is a big pond right smack in the middle of the village, which the villagers used as a washing point. Sometimes you can find geese waddling in it too. 不难发现宏村到处都有沟渠，这些沟渠是贯穿整个村子的，里面的水其实是泉水，是干净的水，所以当地人还是会用这个水来洗碗，有人则在沟渠内为自己的狗儿洗澡。
There is a drainage system running through the whole village. The water found in these drains is not dirty like normal drains though. The water comes from natural springs and in olden times, villagers used to draw water from these drains for all purposes. Nowadays, the water in the drains is mostly used for washing clothes and cutlery, or for pets. 而这里的人大部分都很友善。走着走着，随便在其中一家店停下，主人就招呼我进他的家参观。即使没有向他买任何东西，但主人家还是很热情的让我参观他的家，任我拍照，结果就这样在他那里聊了一个多小时。
The people here are real friendly too. I just stopped by one of the “shops” to take a look at the bamboo carved paintings for no longer than 10 seconds, when the friendly shop owner invited me into his house for a look. Even though I made it clear right from the start that I won’t be buying anything, the guy still invited me in and allowed me to take pictures of his place and his cute cat. We chatted for more than an hour before he allowed me to leave. 上午的宏村到处都是游客，到了下午三、四点，就会看到成群的美术生手持画画工具，来这里写生。据了解，宏村不只是受中国学生欢迎，就连外地的美术生也会特地来这里写生。正因为有这些学生的光临，所以即使宏村是个旅游景点，但卖的东西一点也不贵，让你不得不为这个地方加分。
The best time to visit Hongcun is actually in the afternoon, when most of the tourist crowd are gone. Although you still find groups of tourists after lunch, at least you won’t be bumping into them at every corner like in the morning. After 3pm or so, you will find groups of art students clutching their painting tools heading for the village, looking for a good spot to do their paintings. Apparently, this place is so famous that it even attracts foreign art students from as far as Europe. And it is thanks to these students that prices of commodities here are kept low, unlike other touristy places, giving you one more reason to make a stop at this village, as long as you are in Huangshan area. 景区外的宏村虽然没有景区内那种古老的味道，但也非常漂亮。　　～伟

The area surrounding the old town is more modern and does not have lovely old buildings like those seen earlier, but is nonetheless charming in its own way. 　　～wei