Xie Shipei, a venerable 95, settles under the huge banyan tree at the Xie's Ancestral Temple in Nanshe Village for a chat with fellow villagers -- it is a routine he has been following for decades.

"Little has changed in the village, at least in the past over 90 years," said Xie.

Indeed, this village has almost remained what it looked like in more than 800 years.

Most of its 250 buildings have stood the test of time.

Houses with long corridors line a stream and feature red walls, green glazed tiles and upturned eaves.

Dwellings, ancestral temples, academies of classical learning, old banyans, narrow alleys and old wells transport visitors to an age that can only be imagined.

The one jarring note in this uninterrupted tranquility comes from a modern scourge -- motorbikes.

But there is hope at hand. "Motor vehicles will be banned in the village in future," said Luo Binggen, an official of the government of Chashan County under the city of Dongguan.

"We hope Nanshe can maintain the ancient look all through."

The Xie family

Of the roughly 1,000 people in the village, more than 98 per cent are surnamed Xie, according to Luo.

"Nanshe Village was set up in the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). The villagers at that time had different family names, until Xie Shangren moved in," he said.

At the end of the dynasty Kublai Khan and his army pushed into the Yellow River Valley and further south. Then most of the Han people in the central plains left for the south. At that time, Xie, a native of Zhejiang Province in the east, came to settle in Nanshe.

The Xie clan grew rapidly and gradually the Xie family name came to dominate the village.

Today, Nanshe's residents are more or less bound by blood ties.

"They live in harmony, like a big family," said Luo, whose wife is from Nanshe.

Xie Shangren said that it is common for people in the village to stop and chat even if they are not familiar with one another because of their common ancestry.

They also hold on strongly to their own special dialect, which is quite different from Cantonese.

The Xie's Grand Ancestral Temple, dating back to 1555 and the village's biggest structure, is a popular meeting point for the elderly.

Covering an area of 306 square meters, the bright and clean temple serves as a place to remember the dead.

The temple's main hall is fronted by three doors separated by a huge yard.

In ancient times, entry to the temple was regulated by a removable, locked doorsill, about half a metre high.

Rejoicing in the antiquity of the trees and houses, the village's grand old man Xie Shipei said: "We raise money to renew ancestral temples, as we respect our ancestors."

"Thanks to the village heads, there is no new building in the village. Nanshe can keep its original face," he added happily.

Under the village's decades old rule, new homes can come up only on the periphery. Despite the rising population, the village itself is barred to new construction.

Daily life retains much of the old ways.

Despite his age, Xie Shipei enjoys farm work.

Although his old house has all the modern trappings such as a TV set, a refrigerator and a washing machine, thanks to his convenience-minded children, but Xie has no time for television.

"It is just a machine box, I like to talk to real people."

As soon as the first rays of the morning sun touch down on Nanshe, he finds his way to the Xie's Ancestral Temple to enjoy the company of "real people."

Thirst for knowledge

Village records show that Nanshe is well known for its ancient scholars. The village was home to 11 jinshi and 29 xiucai in past dynasties.

Jinshi refers to a successful candidate at the highest imperial examinations while Xiucai refers to one successful at the county level exam.

"At that time people would rather suffer from hunger than begrudge the money for education," said Luo.

"My family emptied their purse to support my studies," said 90-year-old Xie Yiqiang, a university graduate in the early part of the 20th century.

This drive for education still exists to this day in Nanshe.

Students admitted to Peking University or Tsinghua University, China's top two, are eligible for a 100,000 yuan (US$12,000) reward from the village's council. Those admitted to other universities stand to gain 10,000 yuan (US$1,200).

Since the resumption of college entrance examinations in 1977, more than 30 Nanshe residents have made the grade.

After retiring from the Zhanjiang sub-branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, 90-year-old Xie Yiqiang turned his back on city life and headed back to his old village with his wife.

"Nanshe is my hometown, I love it," he gushed.

When the sun sets, frail Xie Yiqiang is wheeled around the village by his wife as he soaks in its beautiful environs.

It is an idyllic life, spent far from the noise and stress of modern-day living. The village elderly spend long happy hours playing chess and in small talk, while also watching over their beloved land.

Farmlands have been rented out and the income is enough to sustain this simple life.

But the choice is not so easy for everyone -- even in Nanshe.

Take Xie Xiaoliang for example. The 27-year-old joined the village council after his college graduation.

But he said he has toyed with the idea of moving downtown to seek a better paid job. However, his love for Nanshe has always won.

"If all of the youth leave, fewer people will be there to serve the villagers," he said.

(China Daily April 20, 2005)