Shitang is a mid-sized fishing village in Wenlin City on the eastern coast of Zhejiang Province. It is located on the southernmost part of the Songshi Peninsula, 27.2 km southeast of Wenlin City. The village faces the sea on both sides -- from the south and east. It covers an area of 16.3 square kms and has a population of 36,000. Now, the village has developed into a town of a large scale.

Although the town is no match for the West Lake with beautiful scenery or Shaoxing with bridges, flowing streams and houses, its architecture has very distinctive features. Groups of stone houses are built on cliffs on the seaside, with an unsophisticated albeit elegant appeal. Many people know that Notre Dame de Paris is a must-see for painters - and Shitang is also very familiar to Chinese painters.

Shitang has a narrow land with few flat surfaces, which is why most houses there can only be built on hills. Shitang residents were very poor in the past, but they lived in storied buildings that seem luxurious to outsiders.

Another architectural characteristic in the town is that its houses are made of stone. There is no earth or kilns in Shitang, only stones all over the mountains. The khaki stones are solid and thick, and the houses built from them are strong enough to withstand typhoons. These dwellings resemble castles in Europe during the Middle Ages and can withstand wind and lightning. They look very charming, with stones dotting the tiles, like abstract oil paintings.

When touring Shitang, you may discover that some stone houses have undergone four generations. The oldest stone houses have two stone walls and two wooden walls. For such houses, there is little change in the stone walls - only traces of wind and rain are left on the wooden walls. The second-generation stone houses have all their four walls built of stone, and the windows are a bit smaller than those of the first generation. As for the third- and fourth-generation homes, they have developed from the traditional two-storied to three- or four-storied structures, and look like blockhouses that rise abruptly from the ground. They have relatively bigger windows, and some of them are even installed with stylish aluminum alloy sliding doors.

With improving living standards, the richest and most fashionable households no longer use stones to build their houses. They transport bricks and prefabricated boards from afar to build high-rises that suggest wealth and advancement.

Also, the people of Shitang seldom grow flowers or plants in their yards. For them, the first floor is for meeting guests, entertainment, cooking and eating; the floors above are used as bedrooms, and usually strangers are not allowed inside. Between the first and second floors are wooden stairs, and anyone who wants to go upstairs must take off his or her shoes.

Fishermen in the town are satisfied with their life there, and they often say proudly that the money they earn fishing one time at sea is equivalent to the annual salary of an ordinary urban employee. The fishermen have enjoyed a much better life in recent years, in Shitang, which can be seen from the construction of houses.