Hongcun rewards slow, exploratory walking. The village is compact enough to cover in a morning, but the details reward patience: carved window lattices, painted beam brackets, sunlit courtyards glimpsed through doorways, and the play of reflections on the canal water. The main buildings open to tourists are concentrated in the central and eastern sections; the western residential lanes, where ordinary village life continues, are equally worth wandering. Plan for a full day to do the village justice.