The historic China Folk House brings the foothills of the Himalayas to Jefferson County
By Vanta Coda III, RealWV
In Jefferson County, American history is not the only heritage and culture to be celebrated, as within a clearing of a dense forest stands the historic China Folk House.
The China Folk House is a Chinese farmer’s house that was originally from the small hamlet of Ximalaza, in the Yunnan province of China, on the foothills of the Himalayas. Although the village of 33 homes was peaceful and picturesque, the site was set to be inundated by rising water from a nearby reservoir, and there was soon to be nothing left of Ximalaza.
Dr. John Flower, a teacher at Sidwell Friends School in D.C., and a group of his students were visiting the region as part of a field study in 2016. The group was walking through the village, observing the village when they all were invited in for tea by Zhang Jianhua, the owner of the house.
dinner is being served at nearby tables. (Right) As rain softly falls on the stone steps of the China Folk House, cellist, Ken Ding tunes his cello. Photos by Vanta Coda III, RealWV.
“The Chinese government marked the areas where the water level was going to rise and we saw this small village and decided to go down and see the structures before they were washed away,” said Dr. Flower. “That’s when we met Mr. Zhang Jianhua, who invited all of us in for tea and the rest was history.”
After a remark from Flower about wishing to bring the historic home with him back to the United States, Jianhua eagerly agreed for Flower to take the house. Thus, starting the six-year process of dis-assembling, shipping, and re-assembling the historic Chinese home near Shannondale.
“We brought it back, found land, and got in touch with our largest donor, Dao Feng,” said Flower. “We had hundreds of volunteers and the West Virginia Timber Guild to help us, it was truly an amazing community experience.”
Flower planned for the house to be a museum, as well as a Chinese cultural center for students in West Virginia, Maryland, D.C., and the northern Virginia area. The house, intended as a teaching tool of Chinese heritage, has become more than just that but connection to one another, no matter where we come from.
Fast forward to present day, the China Folk House now sits on 1,400 acre Friends Wilderness Center nature preserve. On May 4, 2024 the house hosted a community building and fundraising event for the Yunnan Native Place Association, celebrating the house and the unique cultural heritage of Yunnan province.
Colin Liang, head chef and owner of Water Song Kitchen in Baltimore helped cook and prepare foods that were served in his homeland of Yunnan province, while live traditional Chinese music filled the air with the spectacle and smell of Yunnan’s heritage.
“When some of the members of Yunnan Native Place Association from my hometown reached out to me to help with cooking for this event, I was all for it and was excited to be a part of this event,” said Liang.
Even though the China Folk House may seem out of place to the Blue Ridge Mountains of West Virginia, it carries with it its Himalayan culture to the surrounding area as it settles in its newfound home with its people to build it up.
“This house hopes to connect everyone, and I believe it is doing just that,” said Flower
“This is a replica of one of the outside dovetail set-ups,” said Flower. “The dragon is meant to ward off evil, while the piece below it is an elephant symbolizing strength and stability.”
