The two tra­di­tion­al vil­lages of Xidi and Hong­cun pre­serve to a remark­able extent the appear­ance of non-urban set­tle­ments of a type that large­ly dis­ap­peared or was trans­formed dur­ing the last cen­tu­ry. Their street plan, their archi­tec­ture and dec­o­ra­tion, and the inte­gra­tion of hous­es with com­pre­hen­sive water sys­tems are unique sur­viv­ing exam­ples.