Hua Quan Village is an art and cultural village located south of Yingtan in Jiangxi, China. The village is situated near the famous Longhu (Dragon Tiger) Mountain, one of China’s most beautiful natural heritage sites, and the birthplace of Taoism.
The village spans over 16 hectares, making it one of the largest art and cultural centers in the world.
Here’s what we loved about the village and why you should include this on your next trip to China…
HUA QUAN VILLAGE
18 Tianshi Road, Longhu Shan District, Yingtan City, Jiangxi Province, China
Telephone: +86-0701- 663-5999
Facebook: Hua Quan Village
Instagram: @hua_quan_village
Website: www.huaquanvillage.com
First Things First
From Manila, take a flight to Shanghai Hongqiao Airport (SHA). We booked China Southern Airlines with a flight itinerary of Manila > Guangzhou > Shanghai Hongqiao.
Take the train to Yingtan Station. The ride should only take 3 hours and 14 minutes. We recommend taking the train from Hongqiao as it is already connected to the airport. This is a faster option compared to Pudong, where it takes 2 hours to get to the train station.
Book your train tickets in advance via Ctrip and have them exchanged at the ticket counter. Present a printed copy of your Ctrip reservation as well as your passport to claim your ticket.
Tip: If you’re flying in from Guangzhou, get a train ticket that’s at least an hour and half after your estimated time of arrival.
Guangzhou is a busy airport and runway delays happen often. The train station has enough stores to keep you occupied while waiting for the train.
In the unfortunate circumstance that you miss your train like we did the first time, you can still have them exchanged, but you might have limited options when it comes to seating.
We ended up on a sleeper train–which was much slower with an ETA of 10 hours–but barely got any sleep.
If you do get to take the faster train, you’ll be much more comfortable.
The interiors are well-lit and feels more premium. This is the 1st Class section.
There’s comfortable seating and ample legroom.
Hua Quan arranged a car to pick us up at Yingtan train station. If you prefer to take the bus or train to the village, instructions are available on the Hua Quan Village website.
The Village
The most impressive feature of the village is the 250-meter wall of murals by different artists from China and around the world. This installation is called The Miracle Project. The aim is to remind all of us of the little miracles in our everyday lives. The murals grow in number each year, and have since expanded to the roads leading to the galleries.
It was difficult to pick a single favorite out of everything, so I narrowed it down to my Top 3. These are the murals that resonated with me the most and fit my visual style.
Hombre Isla by Morivivi
Artist’s description: The mural is the after-labor of Cacibajagua. The man is an island-man abroad. The ants have built him and are floating thanks to their capacity to work together. They are able to rise above the sea creating one huge living entity. It reveals a struggle of identity because an isolated man trying to come afloat through the construction of the colony is a labor that reflects Puerto Ricans so well.
A Star Studded Demeanor by Tran Nguyen
Artist’s description: Our world is a deeply-rooted figure, surrounded by star-studded voids and planetary relations. Curious, she often wanders to distant galaxies stumbling upon celestial cities filled with otherworldly minds. Within her years of search and travel, she discovers that her cosmos is birthed from ever-growing miracles and that these miracles are meant to be nurtured and loved.
Song of the Phoenix by Dong Shenggang
Artist’s Description: The legendary phoenix circles both heaven and earth. Creatures of all realms are reunited. The beauty that is beyond aesthetic purity symbolizes the spirit of Zen.
Village Goals
Hua Quan Village was built with a few goals in mind–the first of which is to support local artists and preserve Chinese culture.
Hua Quan is home to almost a hundred Chinese artists, who each have their own galleries and live in the village.
The galleries feature a variety of works according to the artist’s chosen medium.
Media varies from oil paintings…
…to intricate wood sculptures…
…to even more intricate stone sculptures…
…and delicate Bronze sculptures.
They also have non-permanent galleries, with installations that change every so often. The one that spoke to me the most was the gallery full of North Korean paintings.
I was expecting it to be all propaganda, but what I saw was in high contrast with the picture of NoKor I had in mind.
One artist, Lena Young, has helped curate a large portion of the art amongst the multiple museums, hotels, and exhibitions, and has artwork and multiple murals displayed throughout the village, along with an entire gallery dedicated to work she painted on-site, inspired by the beautiful surroundings.
There is also a special gallery dedicated to porcelain artists.
This two-piece porcelain sculpture sold for $400,000!
Aside from galleries, there is also a museum in the village that is focused on Chinese art history.
I did not understand much of what was written inside the museum, but the great thing with art is that visuals are a helpful guide when you’re trying to decipher messages.
There is a section dedicated to Chinese spirituality. Seen here is Confucius and Lao Tzu.
There’s also a section dedicated to Chinese calligraphy…
…to the different herbs used to make tea…
…and, of course, Chinese architecture.
The second goal of the village is to provide respite from the hectic digital day-to-day life and a breathtaking getaway surrounded by nature.
Hua Quan is located close to the birthplace of Taoism, and there really is a sense of calmness and serenity in the air. As the location is far from the city, there is barely any trace of pollution in the area.
You can even take a short tour around the nearby temples. It would be great though if the tours came with an English booklet, or even a guide that spoke English.
I thoroughly enjoyed seeing everything, but truly wish I could understand the stories behind all of it.
The last goal of the village is to provide an opportunity for personal exploration through classes in art and Chinese culture.
There is a dedicated Art and Cultural Center inside the village, which is home to all of the classes offered in the village.
There are yoga classes in the early morning…
…painting classes after breakfast…
…and even pottery classes in the afternoon.
The beauty of having everything so close together meant that we could easily retreat to our room at Hua Quan Hotel the moment we felt tired.
It didn’t hurt that the hotel was so beautiful as well.
Overall, we loved our experience at Hua Quan Village. As an artist, being surrounded by nature and that much inspiration was overwhelming, but in a good way.
Our visit helped me realize that art is still very much part of who I am. I could spend countless days just visiting all the galleries and taking in all of their beauty.
HUA QUAN VILLAGE
18 Tianshi Road, Longhu Shan District, Yingtan City, Jiangxi Province, China
Telephone: +86-0701- 663-5999
Facebook: Hua Quan Village
Instagram: @hua_quan_village
Website: www.huaquanvillage.com
Live an Awesome Life,
MONIQUE of TEAM OUR AWESOME PLANET
Disclosure: We were media guests of Hua Quan Village. I wrote this article with my biases, opinions, and insights.
P.S. Thank you to Andrew Young for letting us experience the beauty of Hua Quan Village.
