Nanshe Ancient Village

Nanshe Ancient Village, dating back to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, is located in Chashan Town of Dongguan City. The village is laid out symmetrically like clasping palms and surrounded by trees. With talented people coming forth in large numbers in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Nanshe became a prosperous and famous village in Chashan.

Now there are 25 ancestral temples and over 200 local-style dwelling houses in Nanshe. As recorded in the Clan History of the Xies at Nanshe Village, Xie Shangren, whose father Xie Xiling was born in Huiji (now called Shaoxing in Zhejiang Province), struggled to move southward because of the social chaos caused by war and eventually settled down at Nanshe. Through 700 years of development in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the Xies saw a boom and built up the village that covers an area of 67,903 square meters.

Nanshe Ancient Village is enclosed by fortified wall. Centering round a rectangular pool, all the houses were built on sides of the pool according to the natural landscape of the hills. All the lanes in the village are planned properly with sufficient security and defense facilities.