Picture Perfect

Famous landscapes and monuments across China have been featured in several recent feature films. This is the fourth installment in a series about these star attractions.

Ancient architecture of southern Anhui province

These old homes were featured in the Oscar-winning movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

A large part of Ang Lee's film was shot in the village of Hongcun in southern Anhui Province. Along with nearby Xidi village and China's iconic mountain, Huangshan, Hongcun is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Remember the scene in which the character played by Chow Yun-fat is chasing Zhang Ziyi's character on the surface of a mirror-like lake at night? That is Yue Zhao or Moonlit Lake in Hongcun. Every season the lake's beauty attracts art students from across the country.

Hongcun is best known for its ancient architecture, built mainly during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasties (1644-1911). The houses have simple white walls and black roofs. Set against south China's green waters and bamboo forest, the village looks just like an old painting.

In his book Ten Years: A Dream of Movies (Shinian Yijiao Dianying Meng), Lee says that he decided to use simply black, white and green as the movie's main colors because he was dazzled by the natural beauty of southern Anhui.

Nearby villages like Xidi and Tangyue are equally beautiful and peaceful. March and April are popular seasons, because it is the time yellow cole flowers blossom. Huangshan is a 30-minute drive and is a must for those fond of mountainous scenery

Directions: Fly to Tunxi, Anhui province and it is a 90-minute drive by taxi, or take a bus to Yixian first and transfer from there.

(China Daily 08/23/2008 page15)