Houses in Baiyangdian Baiyangdian was once known as “Northern Jiangnan”, literally the southern type of water town in the North China. But quite different from the village houses in the south of China, the design and construction of the cottages here have their distinctive features. Village houses in the south have sloping roofs to stand the rainy weather, while the cottages here have flat roofs to dry the harvest in the sun. And, every time the water flooded, the villagers had to move belongings in the room onto the roof. These cottages are so close to each other and some are almost connected.