Chuandixia Village, one of the 12 most representative ancient villages in China, is situated in the mountains of Mentougou District, Beijing. The whole village is composed of many Chinese quadrangle courtyards (known as Siheyuan, the typical buildings for private dwellings in the Ming and Qing dynasties). They were built near the mountain. This ancient village is the most outstanding representative of village dwelling in northern China, built to fit in with local conditions, and ornately decorated. It is the only ancient village which has been well preserved in northern China.

However, the village remained a poor village unknown to the public till the 1990s. When Peng Shiqiang, a Beijing-based famous painter, came to this village in 1995, he was surprised to find a number of Siheyuan dwellings which had nearly disappeared in Beijing.

The entire village is itself a museum of ancient Chinese life. But the villagers weren't aware of it. Due to difficult circumstances, they intended to move out of the village and the local government also planned to build a reservoir there. On this occasion, Peng Shiqiang immediately went to the village leader and then to the district leader, insisting on the importance of not leaving this village. Thanks to Peng's efforts, the plan of building a reservoir was given up and villagers stopped moving. People started to realize that the poor village had huge cultural and financial value. During the following years, Peng came to the village to paint the scenery dozens of times. What's more, he even paid for 3,000 painting albums to be given to the villagers for promotional purposes.

In order to promote this village, Peng has made efforts to bring the media, friends and colleagues to visit. The formerly unknown village is now a world-known place for people coming to visit, relax and enjoy the ancient scenery. In the meantime, villagers also live a well-off life due to the income from the tourism industry.