#Nigou Township Travel Recommendations for 2024 (Updated in Jun)
Villages
Address:
揭陽市普寧市燎原街道泥溝鄉
Opening times:
Open year round, 24/7Open
Recommended sightseeing time:
0.5-1 day
Puning's scenic spots are few and far between, and compared to Deqing, Nigou Village has a more distinctive charm!
Puning, a county-level city, has the largest population among all county-level divisions in the country and is under the jurisdiction of Jieyang City, Guangdong Province—the birthplace of Chaoshan culture.
Nigou Village in Puning is a name full of rustic charm, but it is an authentic urban village, located just three or four kilometers from the center of Puning city.
The characteristic of Nigou Village is the orderly Chaoshan-style residential houses, row upon row, house after house, as if measured with a ruler, so neat and tidy. It's a wonder how the villagers can follow such rules and not build haphazardly like in other villages.
The main body of Chaoshan-style residential houses is the common 'ear-shaped' roof structure seen in Fujian and Guangdong, but the 'ears' on the roofs here are quite unique; they are flat on top, unlike the curved tops seen in other regions.
The residential houses in Nigou Village are built with great care, with every household featuring carved beams and painted rafters. The dragon and phoenix motifs on the beams are colorful and vibrant, and the eaves often have intricate and elaborate etchings. Even the ventilation windows are adorned with colorful frames.
The use of bold and bright colors in the architecture of Nigou Village is daring, yet it doesn't feel tacky. In particular, the use of mung bean green as the main color palette somehow feels sophisticated.
Interestingly, the well-preserved ancient architectural style of the residential houses in Nigou Village is not actually ancient; they are only about thirty years old, and they are practical homes that are inhabited. Some villagers have also built four-story modern buildings nearby, but these look rather low in comparison to the traditional houses.
Thirty years ago, even the economy of the Chaoshan area was just starting to develop. It's a mystery how this village managed to build such costly courtyards with such unity.
The only modern village architecture that can compare with Nigou Village in terms of architectural details is the Bai ethnic courtyards in Dali, but even those are not as uniform.
Therefore, the architectural complex of Nigou Village in Puning is truly unique and definitely worth a visit!
The Culinary Crusader
A wood carving worth 100 million
Nigou Village has a long history, which can be traced back to the 22nd year of Yuan Shizu Zhiyuan (1285 AD), and it is a famous overseas Chinese village, cultural village, and old Soviet area in Puning City.
Nigou Village is very large, with a registered population of more than 20,000, composed of 6 natural villages. Overlooking from the sky, there are continuous and uniform traditional Chaoshan residences everywhere, which is very shocking. No wonder it is known as one of the top ten most beautiful ancient villages in Guangdong.
The ancestral hall culture of Nigou Village is developed, and the ancestral halls are spread all over the corners of the village, with various patterns, and there are 98 ancestral halls and public offices. In the Zhang's ancestral hall, we saw a large shrine worth over 100 million, which is full of exquisite Chaozhou wood carvings. The golden surface is not gold lacquer, but gold foil. The small bells and hanging bells on the wood carvings can still move, and the exquisite level is breathtaking. It is said that many years ago, a piece was borrowed by a certain museum for research and has not been returned yet.
Nigou Village has a rich traditional historical culture and folk art, such as Yingge dance, Chaozhou big gong and drum, lantern riddles, literary and artistic performances, the 21st of the first month "Zouzi Meeting", Sanwangye You Shen, eating peace porridge (fish porridge) on the evening of August 14th, etc. Puning Yingge Dance is listed as intangible cultural heritage, and Nigou Village is the "hometown of Yingge Dance", and there will be wonderful Yingge Dance performances during festivals.
Address: Nigou Village, Liaoyuan Street, Puning City, Jieyang City, Guangdong Province
Opening hours: all day
Tickets: none