Fuchuan Fengxi Village Ancestral Hall and Opera Stage

Along the ancient Xiao-He Highway, Fengxi Village has stood for over eight hundred years. At its heart lies a complex of timber and brick: the ancestral halls of the Chen, Cen, and Zhai clans, built during the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty. These structures feature heavy wooden doorways, painted rafters, and "sheep-riding" roof corners that curve sharply against the Guangxi sky. On the exterior walls, faded paintings of birds and flowers survive centuries of mountain moisture.

Adjacent to a sacred pavilion stands the village opera stage. Its pillars and beams bear the physical marks of local craftsmen who carved poetry and calligraphic couplets directly into the wood. On the back panel, a wooden plaque reads "observing the past to understand the present." This stage remains a functional space. In 1993, a local schoolteacher named Chen Yongmei organized the Fengxi Village Folk Drama Troupe to keep local traditions alive. Members like Jiang Yue'e, who returned from working in distant cities, perform here regularly.

When evening falls, the stage comes alive. Farmers and laborers transform into performers, their voices rising in the two-part harmony of the Yao Butterfly Songs, mimicking the rapid flutter of wings. The rhythmic thud of the Lusheng Long Drum Dance vibrates through the load-bearing brickwork. The scent of freshly brewed oil tea drifts from nearby homes. These performances preserve the heritage of a village where ninety percent of the residents belong to the Yao people.

In 2000, the government designated these halls and the stage as provincial cultural relics. A major restoration project began its first phase in 2026, securing the timber frames and stabilizing the painted walls. The buildings endure as physical records of migration and community life, where the past is continuously re-enacted on a wooden stage.