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Located in Zhaitang Town， Mentougou District of western Beijing， Lingshui Village is a well-hidden village with its three sides surrounded by wooded mountains.
It is a place far from the hustle and bustle of the capital where tourists can enjoy some tranquility and get in touch with nature.
If tourists stand on a mountaintop and have a bird’s-eye view of the village， they will find that its shape seems like a turtle， one of four guardian animal spirits in Chinese mythol- ogy， which is the source of its name， Lingshui， literally meaning sacred water.
The locals say that the shape of the village is basically the same as it has been since the Liao Dynasty when their ancestors built the village according to Chinese traditional geomantic theories.
With a history of more than one thousand years， the village stands as a living testament to the rise and fall of many dynasties.
Nowadays， the village still maintains old architectural styles with more than 20 dwellings dating back to the Ming Dynasty and over 100 dwellings dating back to the Qing Dynasty.
In 2005， the Ministry of Construction and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage rated the village as one of Chinese famous historical and cultural villages due to its wellpreserved historical architectures and unique village culture.
It is worth mentioning that the village was used as the shooting site of first two episodes of the hit reality show“Where are we going， dad？” starring celebrities including famous actor Guo Tao， actor-singer Jimmy Lin， and former world diving champion Tian Liang， as well as their lovely kids.
Thousands of tourists and fans were attracted to the enchanting village after the reality show was aired on Hunan TV on October 11， 2013.
Juren Village
The village got its claim-to-fame during the Ming and Qing dynasties when it was home to no less than 22 scholars who earned the academic degree of Juren by passing the three-yearly provincial-level imperial examinations and served as civil servants. Therefore， people give the village a nickname of Junren Village.
There still exist a number of relics of those scholars’ former residences， including those of Prefecture Magistrate Liu Maoheng and China’s last Juren Liu Zengguang，
Liu Maoheng and Liu Zengguang both held senior positions in the imperial court of the Qing Dynasty and their virtues and good deeds have a great influence on the village. The locals name those relics as Juren Residence， which have become must-see spots in the village.
With only over 200 households existing， the village still carries on their ancestors’ custom of advocating Confucius culture and respecting scholars.
Relics of Ancient Temples
The relics of ancient temples， which were used to house the statues of divinities worshipped by their ancestors， are also in the must-see list for tourists.
The village used to have 17 temples， including two dedi-cated to Buddha， two dedicated to Confucius， 13 dedicated to Laozi， the founder of the Taoism and others dedicated to gods of divinities in Chinese folk culture.
It is rare for a rural village to have such many temples， indicating their ancestors’ piety to religious believes and their tolerance of culture diversity.
As years passed， most of temples in the village have ceased to exist， only leaving some relics of temples， including Temple of the Dragon King of the South Sea， Temple of the Goddess of Mountain Tai and Lingquan Zen Temple.
Besides relics of crumbling temples， the village is also known for a number of extraordinarily grand trees.
Cypress Holding an Elm & Cypress Holding a Mulberry
In the Temple of the Dragon King of the South Sea， situated in the west of the village， there are two 1000-year-old cypresses， which have been rated as the first-level protected trees of China.
One of the two aged cypresses has a diameter of 2.2 meters and its hollowed-out center is host to a 10-meterhigh and 0.7-meter-diameter elm. It is said that the elm is more than 300 years old.
According to the locals， the intertwining trees， called as Cypress Holding an Elm， are the most beautiful when the white mulberries hang together with the green of the cypress，
The other cypress， about 3 meters in diameter， has a similar situation， whose center is host to a 5-meter-high and 0.25-meter-diameter mulberry. The locals call them Cypress Holding a Mulberry.
Some wonder whether the two aged cypress were planted by monks in the temple or have existed before the temple was built， and whether the mulberry and the elm were results of grafting by monks， and what kind of special meaning they had for the village， which still are mysterious to people.
Hermaphrodite Gingko Tree
Another strange combination can be seen in the relics of the Lingquan Zen Temple， where is home to two grand gingko trees， The locals say both of them have lived for hundreds of years and are rated as the country’s second-level protected trees.
The gingko tree， also referred to as the maidenhair tree， is considered to be dioecious， which means that it has two separate sexes. Only the female gingko trees bear fruit， and they need to be in proximity to a male ginko to make the nuts.
Both of the two gingko trees in the Lingquan Zen Temple are male and they should not bear fruit. However， on the gingko tree located in the west of the temple， there has a trunk of female tree， 120 centimeters in length and over 20 centimeters in diameter， which bears fruit every year.
It is a wonder to see a hermaphrodite gingko tree in the village.Some believe it is a result of grafting by monks or villagers and are surprised by the advanced grafting technology and the ancient people’s intelligence.
Other scenic spots
In addition to the relics of time-beaten temples and the silent trees， a stone man also witnesses the long history of the village
If tourists stand in the middle of the village and look eastward， they will find a huge stone man on the top of Zhuaji Mountain， about 20 miles away from the village. T
The stone man stands as a teacher writing on a blackboard. The locals call it Dongling Stone Mane and believe scholars in the village are under its care.
To the west of the village there is a mountain named Dushan， whose shape looks like a blooming lotus flower. Therefore， the locals also call it Dushan Lotus.
Juren Porridge
Besides rich and distinctive cultural heritage and beautiful scenic spots， another charm of Lingshui Village is its healthy and unique folk customs， including Autumn Porridge Festival which has passed down for more than three hundred years.
The festival， celebrated in the Beginning of Autumn in Chinese lunar calendar， is founded to commemorate Liu Maoheng’s generous deeds for poor scholars. In the Qing Dynasty， Liu passed out porridge to poor scholars who were preparing for the imperial examination.
As all scholars wished to be listed as successful candidates in a scroll known as the Jin Bang（Golden Scroll） in imperial China， the festival is also known as Jin Bang Juren Porridge Festival.
It is a place far from the hustle and bustle of the capital where tourists can enjoy some tranquility and get in touch with nature.
If tourists stand on a mountaintop and have a bird’s-eye view of the village， they will find that its shape seems like a turtle， one of four guardian animal spirits in Chinese mythol- ogy， which is the source of its name， Lingshui， literally meaning sacred water.
The locals say that the shape of the village is basically the same as it has been since the Liao Dynasty when their ancestors built the village according to Chinese traditional geomantic theories.
With a history of more than one thousand years， the village stands as a living testament to the rise and fall of many dynasties.
Nowadays， the village still maintains old architectural styles with more than 20 dwellings dating back to the Ming Dynasty and over 100 dwellings dating back to the Qing Dynasty.
In 2005， the Ministry of Construction and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage rated the village as one of Chinese famous historical and cultural villages due to its wellpreserved historical architectures and unique village culture.
It is worth mentioning that the village was used as the shooting site of first two episodes of the hit reality show“Where are we going， dad？” starring celebrities including famous actor Guo Tao， actor-singer Jimmy Lin， and former world diving champion Tian Liang， as well as their lovely kids.
Thousands of tourists and fans were attracted to the enchanting village after the reality show was aired on Hunan TV on October 11， 2013.
Juren Village
The village got its claim-to-fame during the Ming and Qing dynasties when it was home to no less than 22 scholars who earned the academic degree of Juren by passing the three-yearly provincial-level imperial examinations and served as civil servants. Therefore， people give the village a nickname of Junren Village.
There still exist a number of relics of those scholars’ former residences， including those of Prefecture Magistrate Liu Maoheng and China’s last Juren Liu Zengguang，
Liu Maoheng and Liu Zengguang both held senior positions in the imperial court of the Qing Dynasty and their virtues and good deeds have a great influence on the village. The locals name those relics as Juren Residence， which have become must-see spots in the village.
With only over 200 households existing， the village still carries on their ancestors’ custom of advocating Confucius culture and respecting scholars.
Relics of Ancient Temples
The relics of ancient temples， which were used to house the statues of divinities worshipped by their ancestors， are also in the must-see list for tourists.
The village used to have 17 temples， including two dedi-cated to Buddha， two dedicated to Confucius， 13 dedicated to Laozi， the founder of the Taoism and others dedicated to gods of divinities in Chinese folk culture.
It is rare for a rural village to have such many temples， indicating their ancestors’ piety to religious believes and their tolerance of culture diversity.
As years passed， most of temples in the village have ceased to exist， only leaving some relics of temples， including Temple of the Dragon King of the South Sea， Temple of the Goddess of Mountain Tai and Lingquan Zen Temple.
Besides relics of crumbling temples， the village is also known for a number of extraordinarily grand trees.
Cypress Holding an Elm & Cypress Holding a Mulberry
In the Temple of the Dragon King of the South Sea， situated in the west of the village， there are two 1000-year-old cypresses， which have been rated as the first-level protected trees of China.
One of the two aged cypresses has a diameter of 2.2 meters and its hollowed-out center is host to a 10-meterhigh and 0.7-meter-diameter elm. It is said that the elm is more than 300 years old.
According to the locals， the intertwining trees， called as Cypress Holding an Elm， are the most beautiful when the white mulberries hang together with the green of the cypress，
The other cypress， about 3 meters in diameter， has a similar situation， whose center is host to a 5-meter-high and 0.25-meter-diameter mulberry. The locals call them Cypress Holding a Mulberry.
Some wonder whether the two aged cypress were planted by monks in the temple or have existed before the temple was built， and whether the mulberry and the elm were results of grafting by monks， and what kind of special meaning they had for the village， which still are mysterious to people.
Hermaphrodite Gingko Tree
Another strange combination can be seen in the relics of the Lingquan Zen Temple， where is home to two grand gingko trees， The locals say both of them have lived for hundreds of years and are rated as the country’s second-level protected trees.
The gingko tree， also referred to as the maidenhair tree， is considered to be dioecious， which means that it has two separate sexes. Only the female gingko trees bear fruit， and they need to be in proximity to a male ginko to make the nuts.
Both of the two gingko trees in the Lingquan Zen Temple are male and they should not bear fruit. However， on the gingko tree located in the west of the temple， there has a trunk of female tree， 120 centimeters in length and over 20 centimeters in diameter， which bears fruit every year.
It is a wonder to see a hermaphrodite gingko tree in the village.Some believe it is a result of grafting by monks or villagers and are surprised by the advanced grafting technology and the ancient people’s intelligence.
Other scenic spots
In addition to the relics of time-beaten temples and the silent trees， a stone man also witnesses the long history of the village
If tourists stand in the middle of the village and look eastward， they will find a huge stone man on the top of Zhuaji Mountain， about 20 miles away from the village. T
The stone man stands as a teacher writing on a blackboard. The locals call it Dongling Stone Mane and believe scholars in the village are under its care.
To the west of the village there is a mountain named Dushan， whose shape looks like a blooming lotus flower. Therefore， the locals also call it Dushan Lotus.
Juren Porridge
Besides rich and distinctive cultural heritage and beautiful scenic spots， another charm of Lingshui Village is its healthy and unique folk customs， including Autumn Porridge Festival which has passed down for more than three hundred years.
The festival， celebrated in the Beginning of Autumn in Chinese lunar calendar， is founded to commemorate Liu Maoheng’s generous deeds for poor scholars. In the Qing Dynasty， Liu passed out porridge to poor scholars who were preparing for the imperial examination.
As all scholars wished to be listed as successful candidates in a scroll known as the Jin Bang（Golden Scroll） in imperial China， the festival is also known as Jin Bang Juren Porridge Festival.