Unveiling a hidden gem

In order to avoid persecution, the kin of a Song Dynasty general took refuge on a mountain. But now, the village can be enjoyed by visitors. Li Yang and Sun Ruisheng report in Pingshun, Shanxi province.

Thirty-three families from Yuejiazhai, a village of the Yue family on the Thaihang mountain ridge in Pingshun, North China's Shanxi province, have lived in relative seclusion for hundreds of years. Yue Xianlai, the Party chief of the village, says: "We are the descendants of Yue Fei's third son Yue Lin. I am a 35th-generation descendant of Yue Lin."

Yue Fei was a military general who led the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279) forces against the Jurchen-ruled Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) from northeastern China.