Sanjiang Guild Hall

Sanjiang Guild Hall

The Sanjiang Guild Hall is a cultural heritage site protected at the provincial level in Liaoning Province.

The Sanjiang Guild Hall is located in Qianjin Community, Gulou Subdistrict Office, Gaizhou City. It sits within the compound of the Gulou Subdistrict Office to the east of the Bell and Drum Tower, and together with the Fujian Guild Hall, Shanxi Guild Hall, and Shandong Guild Hall, it is known as one of the Four Great Guild Halls of Gaizhou. Because it houses the Tianhou Palace, it is also called the Temple of the Sea God. The Sanjiang Guild Hall served as a meeting place for business associations formed by merchants from Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

Only the main hall of the Sanjiang Guild Hall remains today. It faces south and is three bays wide and five bays deep, featuring a compound structure. It is 11.9 meters long from east to west and 15.9 meters wide from north to south, with a construction area of approximately 150 square meters. The main hall has a large wooden frame structure, with a front porch, painted beams and brackets, and a rear room that has been renovated. The roof of the building is covered with gray tiles, and the ridges and roof decorations are well preserved. The architectural style here does not reflect the ancient northern techniques but instead showcases the southern Chinese architectural style. The building harmonizes with surrounding structures, reflecting the integration of southern architectural elements in this northern region.

Since the lifting of the maritime ban in the 23rd year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1684), people from the Sanjiang region began traveling by boat across the sea to Liaodong to engage in trade. At that time, Gaiping (Gaizhou) was a major commercial port in southern Liaoning, so merchants from the Sanjiang region were among the first to settle here for livelihood. Historical records indicate that sea vessels could sail up the Daqing River all the way to the area outside Nan Guan. In those days, the city was filled with shops and bustling with merchants, and many merchants from the south established luxurious guild halls in Gaizhou, one of which was the Sanjiang Guild Hall. The Sanjiang Guild Hall was built in the 42nd year of Kangxi’s reign (1703) and was renovated again in the 17th year of Qianlong’s reign (1752). According to the "Shanhai Chao Guan Que Zheng Bian Lan" (Convenient Guide to Customs Duties at Shanhai Pass), compiled during the Jiaqing era, under the entry "Current Affairs · Matters Concerning the Gaizhou Port," it is noted: “The Sanjiang Guild Hall contributed twelve taels of incense silver, the Fujian Guild Hall eight taels, and the Shandong Guild Hall eight taels.” The Sanjiang Guild Hall contributed the most incense silver, reflecting its position as the strongest and wealthiest among the three guild halls. As the Daqing River estuary gradually silted up, the commercial center of southern Liaoning shifted to Yingkou, which had deeper waters and a wider harbor. In the 20th year of the Daoguang reign (1840), a Sanjiang charitable burial ground was established in Yingkou, and in the 13th year of the Guangxu reign (1887), the Jiangzhe Guild Hall was built on the same site as a branch of the Gaizhou Sanjiang Guild Hall. This continued to operate until after the liberation.

In 2004, the People's Government of Gaizhou City designated the Sanjiang Guild Hall as a municipal (county-level) cultural heritage protection unit. In 2012, the People's Government of Yingkou City (Ying Zheng [2012] No. 173) listed it as a city-level cultural heritage protection unit, and in 2014, the People's Government of Liaoning Province (Liao Zheng Fa [2014] No. 27) designated it as a provincial-level cultural heritage protection unit. The cultural heritage protection scope and construction control zone announced by the People's Government of Yingkou City (Ying Zheng [2013] No. 185) are as follows: the protection zone extends 5 meters outward from the outer wall foundation of the Sanjiang Guild Hall in all directions (east, west, south, and north); the construction control zone of Class II extends 10 meters outward from the protection zone in all directions (south, east, north, and west).

Source: Municipal Bureau of Culture, Sports, News, Radio, Television and Tourism; Contributor: Dong Wenjie

Qianjin Community: Qianjin Community…… Detailed information about Qianjin Community++