Houses in Xiaolongwo Village are built of stone from the Taihang Mountains in the traditional North China style. [File photo]

National Highway 307 bisects Xiaolongwo Village. The old town, located at the southern end, covers about one third of its area, and complements the contours of its environs. Houses are built of stone from the Taihang Mountains in the traditional North China style. Built on hillsides and downs, their features include vertical walls and sheds, used as barns or outhouses, and stone walls that form a three-dimensional housing compound layout.

Although not big, the village's asymmetrical layout makes it a maze in which newcomers are likely to get lost. During our walk, I wandered away from the group and while temporarily lost came upon an old theater. Through the locked gate I caught a glimpse in the yard of trunks full of costumes and props.

Another place to see in the nearby mountains is a group of grottoes containing Buddhist statutes. None has any distinguishing marks, and all are unprotected and so prey to wind, weather and traffic. In one small grotto that must have originally housed dozens of figurines, only about 10 remained. Those in a few caves near the top of the cliff, however, were relatively intact, notably a statue of the boddhisattva Guanyin. We were intrigued as to how these striking ancient stone statues had survived the ravages of history.