Over a history spanning five thousand years, the ancestors of the Chinese nation created ancient architectural aesthetics, urban planning, and courtyard layouts that astonished the world; like beautiful and solemn movements of a national symphony, they embody the essence of architectural design worldwide.

　　Speaking of China's ancient architectural aesthetics, this writer cannot help but think of Sanliao Village in Meijiao Town, Xingguo County, Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province.

 

　　Sanliao Village was originally called Liaoxi. In the late Tang Dynasty, it is said that a scholar named Yang Junsong, together with his accomplished disciples Zeng Wenchang and Liao Yu, came here to escape the Huang Chao Rebellion. Seeing that the site had "a luojing stone that draws in energy in front and a cool umbrella and bundle to carry along behind," he built three thatched huts here to settle, teach disciples, and write books. The ancients called thatched huts "liao," so the village was renamed "Sanliao"; later generations changed "liao" to "liao" (僚). The village is surrounded by mountains on all sides, with lush trees. Looking out from a height, the village resembles a giant taiji diagram; two streams of different water temperatures converge into a "Yin-Yang River" that runs through the entire village. Donghua Temple, Xizhu Temple, Nanji Nunnery, and Beidou Nunnery stand prominently at the four cardinal points, fully displaying the architectural wisdom of the ancient people.

 

　　Over the following centuries, the ancient village buildings of Sanliao were continuously improved, and the village nurtured hundreds of cultural inheritors. Zeng Xianhua, the 38th-generation descendant of Zeng Wenchang and pioneer of the "Sanliao Feng Shui Cultural Tourism Area," is an outstanding figure among them.

 

　　Zeng Xianhua is a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference of Xingguo County, Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province, and chairman of Beijing Huayi Bogu Culture Communication (Group) Company and Jiangxi Sanliao Tourism Scenic Area Development Co., Ltd. He is also a refined, energetic, enterprising entrepreneur who is enthusiastic about public welfare. In 1982, shortly after graduating from university, he—who had been fascinated by China's ancient architectural aesthetics since childhood—passed the civil service examination with excellent results, to the envy of his hometown peers. Ten years later, he made another move that astonished his hometown: he left his government post to go into business. After more than 20 years of hard work, his enterprise grew from a single business in home appliances and real estate into today's large cultural industry group integrating calligraphy and painting art, art collection, and tourism. The group has branches in many provinces and cities across the country, and its employees have increased from a few dozen at the beginning to several hundred today. As the enterprise developed faster and wealth grew rapidly, Zeng Xianhua began actively planning one thing: developing his hometown's economy so that the local people could live good lives. This idea was inseparable from his parents. His father and mother had joined the Red Army and experienced the 25,000-li Long March. After Zeng Xianhua was born, his parents taught their children from an early age always to remember the Party's grace and to remember the source of their blessings. From childhood, Zeng Xianhua set the lofty aspiration of building his hometown and repaying his parents' grace, and he has never forgotten his fellow villagers or his social responsibility.

 

　　After years of striving elsewhere, Zeng Xianhua returned to Sanliao Village in Meijiao Town, Xingguo County, saw the business opportunities in the tourism culture market, and actively responded to Xingguo County's investment promotion policies. In 2009, he invested 360 million yuan in his hometown Sanliao Village to build a tourism scenic area from a high starting point. As the saying goes, "If you want to get rich, first build roads." So that villagers would no longer have difficulty traveling, Zeng Xianhua resolutely donated funds and built three cement roads for the village free of charge. So that villagers could have clean and hygienic drinking water, Zeng Xianhua specially hired technical personnel to survey routes and donated more than 800,000 yuan to dig two deep wells. After the drinking water project was completed, it thoroughly ended the history of some villagers drawing water from wells and depending on the weather for water for generations, directly improving the local villagers' quality of life and rural living and sanitation conditions. The village's wiring was aging, and with the frequent use of modern electrical appliances, short circuits and tripped breakers often occurred, affecting watching TV and children's internet use; inadequate power grid safety measures could easily cause electrical safety accidents. Zeng Xianhua saw this and worried deeply, so he donated funds to replace transformers and power supply lines. In the past, villagers had nowhere to see a doctor; when ill, they put off treatment as long as possible, and if they could not put it off, they simply got a few herbal medicines. Now, with Zeng Xianhua's full support, the Zeng Qingchun Clinic has been built, and when villagers fall ill they go to the clinic for examinations. The simple earthen-walled single-story house where Zeng's father lived after retiring and returning home had only a simple whitewash on the exterior walls, a floor of lime-sand mixture, and no decoration to speak of. Now Zeng Xianhua has tidied up the house and given it free of charge to a relative, whose family has converted it into a rabbit farm; it now raises more than 500 lively rabbits, which are often taken to market for sale.

 

　　Donations of money and goods can only relieve immediate needs; like a blood transfusion, they cannot cure the root cause. In order to achieve lasting happiness for the whole village and create more employment opportunities, the Jiangxi Sanliao Cultural Tourism Scenic Area, with the strong support and promotion of the Xingguo County Party Committee, the county government, and especially the four leading bodies under the leadership of County Party Secretary He Shunping, has completed its first phase of construction, and the second phase has been fully launched.

 

　　As a CPPCC member, Zeng Xianhua never forgets to perform his duties. The proposals he submits are all closely related to the interests of the people. For example, proposals on new rural construction and other areas have mostly been praised by ordinary people and other CPPCC members. At present, these proposals have received attention from relevant departments.

 

　　"A train runs fast only because of the locomotive." Under Zeng Xianhua's leadership, the appearance of Sanliao Village has taken on a completely new look; the masses live civilized and healthy lives, and the social environment is sound and harmonious. The Sanliao Scenic Area is thriving, and its fame and reputation are rising day by day. "Sanliao Feng Shui Culture" has been included in the intangible cultural heritage protection lists of Jiangxi Province and Ganzhou City. Sanliao Village has been rated as one of the "Top Ten Charming Villages of Jiangxi Province," one of the "Top Ten Agritourism Demonstration Villages of Jiangxi Province," and a "National Agricultural Tourism Demonstration Site," and in 2012 it was awarded national AAAA-level scenic area status.