Perhaps the village's biggest asset is that unlike renowned attractions such as the Great Wall near Beijing and the West Lake in Hangzhou, it draws only local tourists. That has helped to preserve its beauty and charm.
But it was not just Hongcun's village charm that captivated us. Madam Yu's hospitality reminded me of the warm reception I received from my relatives when I visited my ancestral village in Fujian some years ago.
When she learnt that we had problems getting transport to Hangzhou to catch the train to Shanghai the next day, she introduced us to a driver, Xiao Jiang, during our first trip to the village.
He turned to be much more than a driver who took us to Hangzhou. On my two subsequent trips to Hongcun, he also turned tourist guide, taking us to the surrounding countryside to see other beautifully preserved villages.
In April, I had an opportunity to return to Hongcun after visiting the Buddhist temples in nearby Jiuhuashan. Xiao Jiang drove about 150km to pick up me and my friend from the mountain.
As our car neared Hongcun, we were greeted by a sea of yellow rapeseed flowers that stretched as far as the eye could see. Along the Nanhu, budding artists competed with one another to capture the beauty of the landscape on their canvases.
Xiao Jiang took us to a few viewing spots high in the hills to see the village and the rapeseed fields. Our lodging, Zhong Kun Hotel, was 5km from Hongcun. In its sprawling grounds were pink-and-white peach blossoms in full bloom.
But spring is not the only time to see the village in all its glory. Autumn is also a wonderful season to travel there and to the surrounding countryside as the area is teeming with giant maple and camphor trees, planted hundreds of years ago, that turn into shades of red, orange and yellow as the weather turns colder.
So last month, I found myself trotting up to the village with three friends to see for ourselves the autumn colours around the Yellow Mountains that we had heard so much about.
We were not disappointed. A high-speed train service had commenced between Shanghai and Huangshan City during the summer. While travelling still took about four hours, this made the journey a lot more comfortable than before.
Xiao Jiang picked us up from the city's train station and, for the next six days, took us to some of the best autumn viewing sites in the area.
At Tachuan, a small village about 1.5km from Hongcun, some of the trees were a gorgeous red colour, towering over the still-green tea bushes that stretched for miles.
He then took us about 100km to the south to see the autumn colours in a village called Shi Cheng, meaning Stone City in Chinese, in a neighbouring county, Wuyuan.
Along the way, we stopped by the aptly named Chrysanthemum Walk Village and climbed the nearby slope to view it. From afar, the village looked as if it was shaped like a giant chrysanthemum.
As we drove to higher ground, we saw thick layers of mist enveloping the hills below. The scene resembled a watercolour painting.
In Huangshan, mist shrouded the mountains and forests and the sight was so much like a classical Chinese painting that I half-expected a fox fairy to leap out of the woods as we walked along the forest trail. Spectacular waterfalls fed by heavy rain disgorged massive volumes of water.
For an encore, Xiao Jiang took us to two villages which are much older than Hongcun and off the beaten track.
One of them - Cheng Kan - was founded 1,800 years ago during the Tang Dynasty. It had the typical small lake in front and an assortment of houses behind. What fascinated us was the octagonal layout of the village. Without a tour guide, it would be easy to get lost in its maze of lanes.
The other - Tang Mo - featured houses running along both sides of a stream with a beautiful old teahouse sitting atop a bridge. It also had beautiful gardens surrounding a small pond modelled on Hangzhou's West Lake.
Back in Singapore, I recall the rustic beauty of the ancient Ming- and Qing-dynasty houses that dot the countryside. Hongcun villagers have retained a folksy charm that city-weary travellers find enchanting.
But Xiao Jiang said a new railroad is being constructed that will cut travel time between Shanghai and Huangshan to just 11/2 hours. His travel business is booming and he has had to switch to a seven-seater vehicle to cater to the bigger number of visitors travelling to Hongcun.
I must make a few more trips to the village before it is overrun by tourists and loses the charm that drew me there in the first place.