Hongcun’s layout is exceptionally characterised by its 400-plus-year-old artificial water system consisting of well-conserved water channels and publicly used ponds—the Moon Pond in the centre of the village and the South Lake to the south. The system is still in use.

Interaction between and coexistence of man and nature is an eternal theme and is a source of art. The ancestors of Hongcun people moved here because of floods. Through generations of creative construction, Hongcun people built a beautiful homestead, living by murmuring steams and peaceful ponds.