Among the steepy south Tai-hang Mountains, there has been a village for hundreds of years. This ancient village, Daobaohe village, is called a “Stone Kingdom”, because the villagers live in stone houses, walk on stone paths, and farm stone-framed terrace fields. Most of the village’s buildings are made of stones, which are abundant nearby.

A bird's eye-view of Daobaohe village [Photo/sxrb.com]

Daobaohe village is between Zezhou and Yangcheng counties in Shanxi province, and near Jiyuan and Qinyang in Henan province. Inscriptions and stemmata in the village indicate that people have been living here since the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), with a history of four to five hundred years.

Due to the homophony of two Chinese characters, the “dao (盜)” in the village’s name refers to theft in the past, instead of today’s “dao (道)”, meaning morality. Because according to a local legend, the village was the place of hidden treasures which were stolen. However, the locals did not want to their hometown known for theft, so they changed the name.

A stone path in Daobaohe village [Photo/sxrb.com]

Hundreds of stone houses are the most noticeable characteristic in Daobaohe village. The village is just like a stone retreat, with a road paved with blue flagstones and stone houses. The croplands, walls, riverbeds, banks and bridges, are all made of stone, making the village plain and tranquil.

Stone-framed terrace fields in Daobaohe village [Photo/sxrb.com]

Tips:

How do you travel to Daobaohe village?

Take a trip from Jincheng city to Shanhe town, and then rent a car to drive to the village.

What can you eat?

Tourists can have local specialties in rural home inns in Daobaohe village. Where can you live?

Tourists can stay in local home inns or hotels in Jincheng city.