就旅游资源而言，自在谷地属世界文化遗产地——西递。“水墨画景观”与徽州村落相交辉映，兼具得天独厚的自然景观与历史悠久的人文景观。从地理位置来看，自在谷与黄山、景德镇等各名胜景区相邻，通往庐山、鄱阳湖也极为便捷。自在谷地处长三角经济带，交通便捷，距离三年后开通的高铁站仅有15分钟的车程。从自在谷出发，一个小时可至杭州，两个小时可至上海。作为独有的旅游特色，自在谷特意为 “NEW NOMAD”（新游牧者）设立了可以安心工作的场所及设施，在休闲之余可以高效率工作，更为符合现代人的生活模式。
——原研哉
Looking into the tourism resources, Zizai Valley is situated within a world cultural heritage site - Xidi Town, which is known for its splendid humanistic and cultural tradition. The Huizhou-style villages are situated in the "landscape of ink painting," thus they have formed a unique natural beauty with an enriched cultural historical landscape. In terms of its geographical location, the Valley is close to Huangshan (Yellow Mountain), Jingdezhen and other scenic spots, and has convenient transport connections with Mount Lu and Poyang Lake. Being part of the Yangtze River Delta economic belt, the Valley is conveniently located in the town merely 15 minutes' drive away from the closest high-speed railway station opening in another three years. Setting out from the place, it takes an hour to get to Hangzhou and two hours to Shanghai. As a one-of-a-kind tourist attraction, Zizai Valley has special features to facilitate the "new nomads" to work and stay focused in the moment, enabling them to achieve efficiency both in work and leisure, and inspire more desirable lifestyle patterns for today's people.
"自在谷"旨在为亚洲和来自世界各地的文化游牧者们营造一个崭新的居住与生产场域，一个当代的“桃花源”。以安徽省黄山西南麓黟县西递镇峡谷之间的溪流、山林与农田景观为依傍，“自在谷”希望重建旅行、栖居、创作、研究、农业和手工业生产与公共文化之间的互文关系，从而构建一种新的人文地理，最终为亚洲的现代化范式提供一种生机勃勃的实践样本。“自在谷”的成员包括建筑、艺术与设计、互联网、农业、手工业、休闲产业、书店活动体等领域的诸多先行者。人们在此实现良田美池桑竹的田园理想，藉由对地方风物的发掘，在日常生活中寻找到适合当代生活的新型休闲、工作与聚会的场所。“自在谷”的创立不仅在于营造一个可供观光与消费的热点，它要求人们进入一种新型的关系空间，在此相遇，在此停留，共建一种依存于情感价值流动的公共场域。从生产到生活，从游牧到栖居，“自在谷”将通过建筑空间与文化再造的有机交互，书写在地历史，持续进行出版、展览、讲座等研究性活动，关注当地的农业和手工业再造，培育有效的价值生产与转换体系。作为一种替代性的空间，一种持续的身份认同的确立，“自在谷”藉由艺术的栖居实现人们对东方文化的精神与审美意志的追寻，并在地方、历史经验与未来之间完成腾挪转换。在此发生的持续性的文化生产、产品生产与灵活的空间策略将最终反哺地方，为当代徽州的乡村振兴，乃至当代中国文化资源的传承与拓进，留下硕果与种子。
Zizai Valley aims to create a new living and producing community for cultural nomads from Asia and around the world, a contemporary "Peach Blossom Land." Situated besides the villages in Xidi Town, Yixian County of Anhui Province, southwest of Yellow Mountain, the Valley is surrounded by streams, mountains and agricultural landscapes. It aims to re-establish the interrelationships between a variety of components in a cultural complex, including travel, habitation, art creation, research, agricultural and crafts production, and examine how they could generate a new form of public culture and placemaking, ultimately providing a valuable paradigm of practice in the process of modernity in the East Asian region.Zizai Valley's members include pioneers in the fields of architecture, art and design, Internet, agriculture, handicrafts, leisure industry and bookstore retailing, among others. People realize their pastoral ideals in the discovery of local scenery and things, and establish a contemporary space for work, leisure and gathering. It not only aims to create a new destination for sightseeing and consumption, but also invites people to explore a new relationship of space, gathering together, living here, and creating a public sphere dependent on the flow of people's emotional values. They get inspirations from the production of things and everyday life here; they travel, but also settle down. The community they build aims to establish a local history narrative, reconstruct the local culture through the practice of space, and conduct a series of continuous research activities such as publishing, organizing exhibitions and lectures. The community also cares about the agricultural scene and the revival of crafts in this region, looking for the establishment of an effective system to produce and transform the value of things.As a form of space practice and identity establishment, the Valley realizes people's pursuit of the spirit and aesthetic of East Asian culture. Through poetical dwelling, the community creates a dynamic relationship between place, historical experience and futurescape. The continuous production of things and culture and the strategy of placemaking will eventually empower the local community, leading and resulting the rural revitalization of today's Huizhou and enriching the contemporary cultural scene in China.
与黄山近郊的历史性建筑的保护方法不同，自在谷这一项目，是在保护原有的历史和风土人情的同时，将现代科技引入其中，从而构建了一种平静、祥和、并引以为傲的极为舒适的旅居场所。
——原研哉
Unlike the preservation of historic buildings in the nearby area of Yellow Mountain, this project is designed to preserve the original history, nature and customs of the locality, and introduce modern technology into it at the same time, thus making a tranquil, peaceful and truly comfortable place for people to travel here and live here with confidence.
Zizai Space
建筑师：
桐斋
Paulownia Guest House
建筑师：
Founders：
建筑师：
澡雪山房Snow Washed Spirit Mountain Institute
创始人： Founder：
建筑师：
Architectural Design:
Society for the Study of Wood Construction
创始人、建筑师：
Founders, Architectural Design:
Founder：
Gazetteer-Novel
The Reception Court by the Creek
建筑师：
Architectural Design:
Chong-She
Founder：
建筑师：
Architectural Design:
Stream Hill College
Digital Nomads Co-Space
建筑师：
Architectural Design:
Zizai Valley Organic Farm
Founders：
Founding Partner: WANG HanFounding Partner & Chief Curator: ZUO JingChief Planner：ZHAO ChongxinContributors: ZUO Jing, PENG YanhanCuratorial Team: ZHOU Shuo, CHEN Ming，LIU Huanyu