Xidi, 11 kilometers from Hongcun, is the other half of the UNESCO-listed pair and in some ways the more architecturally concentrated of the two. The village is arranged on a flatter plain and presents a slightly different character: less picturesque than Hongcun (there is no Moon Pond equivalent), but denser in historical building fabric and with a more complete sense of a preserved settlement rather than a showcase.
The ancestral hall at Jingai Lane holds some of the most elaborate stone carving in Anhui — dragons, phoenixes, and mythological scenes in deep relief on the main gate. The residential lanes are narrower and more preserved than Hongcun's, and the absence of the canal system means fewer tourists circulate to the back streets. Combining both villages in a single day is straightforward with local transport; hiring a driver for the day is the most efficient option.