Built 700 years ago by the Zhuge family, the Zhuge Village in the mountains of East China's Zhejiang Province, which was laid out in accordance with the bagua (eight diagrams) and thus became one of the country's greatest labyrinths and most mysterious architectural works.

The "Architectural Arts" programme of the China Educational Television (CETV-1) will show the secrets of the village at 11:05 am on Sunday.

The Zhuge family, who built the village, were allegedly descended from Zhuge Liang (AD 181-234), chancellor of the Shu Kingdom in the Three Kingdoms period (AD 220-280) and one of the most prominent politicians and strategists in Chinese history.

The strategist was known for applying bagua, a formation recorded in the I-Ching, in the disposition of forces, and thus making an ever-changing battle array. Legends said no troops trapped in the array could escape.

The 27th descendant of the strategist, Zhuge Dashi, bought a small basin for the family surrounded by eight hills. The basin, located by the Lanxi River, had a pond at the centre. The family had dozens of houses and mansions built around the basin, according to the eight-diagrams battle array, which was handed down secretly by generations of the Zhuges.

The dark-roofed, white-walled ancient houses, which have been well preserved, face various directions. The alleys between houses, paved by stone tablets and covered by the green moss, are intersected and many have dead ends. Without the guidance of the villagers, visitors are often lost.

As most members of the family were doctors after the strategist, the village has been rather rich over the past seven centuries. The wooden mansions, built mostly in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, were opulent with carvings in the windows, colourful paintings on the beams and sculptures on the eaves.

Bamboos, ancient pines and cypress trees stand around the village. Tablets with ancient calligraphy works hang on lintels over the doors, and articles by Zhuge Liang were displayed in guestrooms of almost all households. The literary tradition of the family has been handed down, as many from the village have been known for their academic achievements.

With fabulous visual effects and detailed illustration, the "Architectural Arts" television programme seeks to trace the creative minds of the builders of the village.

(China Daily July August 9, 2003)