Former Site of the Yinzhuang Patrol Inspectorate Office

Former Site of the Yinzhuang Patrol Inspectorate Office

The Former Site of the Yinzhuang Patrol Inspectorate Office is a cultural relic protection unit of Jiangsu Province.

The Yinzhuang Patrol Inspectorate Office is a Qing Dynasty structure, facing south with a north orientation. It stretches 42.9 meters from north to south and 12.6 meters from east to west. The building consists of five sections in a row, each with three rooms, of which twelve remain. It is one of the better-preserved former government office sites in Jizhen Town and even the entire Jingjiang area.

In the past, Jizhen had convenient transportation and a booming commercial scene, and was a well-known business street in the Rushu, Taixing, and Jingjiang regions. The streets were lined with shops, offering all kinds of trades—earning it the nickname “Little Shanghai of Northern Jiangsu.” Not only was it commercially developed, but Jizhen was also a strategic pass, so the Taixing County Government during the Qing Dynasty relocated the Patrol Inspectorate Office from Yinzhuang (now Quxia District, Taixing) to Jizhen to maintain public order in the town and surrounding areas.

In reports by researchers on the ancient town of Jizhen, the Qing Dynasty Patrol Inspectorate is described as follows: Officials of the Patrol Inspectorate Office in those days were also government-appointed. According to the imperial examination system, anyone who passed the martial arts examination could be appointed by the emperor as a patrol inspector in various regions, with one or two assistants selected locally. A typical county-level Patrol Inspectorate Office had about 80 archers (also called bowmen), led by the inspector. Each archer was provided with meals and uniforms by local finances, and additionally received an annual salary of 7.2 taels of silver and 2 taels for equipment. The county government would also adjust the number of archers appropriately based on public security conditions and financial resources.

Located on East Street of the Old Town of Jizhen, the Yinzhuang Patrol Inspectorate features three front rooms with a five-beam roof structure facing the street. Entering the courtyard, there are six connected rooms spanning the second and third sections, featuring a seven-beam roof. The middle section is a main hall paved with black square bricks, also known as luodi bricks. The column bases are stone drum pedestals, with wooden board walls on both sides, and the rooms have wooden flooring. At the point where the eaves of the two buildings meet, there are facilities to prevent rain leakage, making the structure very solid. The beams of the main room in the third section are carved with classical patterns, and both the eave drips and the nearby brick walls feature floral and bird motifs.

The fourth section also has three rooms with a seven-beam roof. Further back is a large courtyard enclosed by walls. At the northern end are three rooms with a five-beam roof, the west side houses the stable, the east side the kitchen, and the center is a storage room for weapons such as bows, arrows, broadswords, spears, and stone locks used by the guards for training. It is slightly regrettable that the last section of the building was once demolished and rebuilt as dormitories by the local clinic, leaving no trace of the original structure.

The Patrol Inspectorate Office wasn’t just a surface building—near the east wall inside the compound, there is an entrance to a tunnel. The tunnel is large enough for adults to pass through, leading directly to an open square in the old street some distance away. It was spacious enough to store weapons, and it is believed that the tunnel served functions such as an ancient armory and an emergency access route for officers.

Today, the Former Site of the Yinzhuang Patrol Inspectorate Office has been restored and has also been listed as a provincial-level cultural relic protection unit of Jiangsu Province. It is believed that the long-sealed memories of the old streets of Jizhen will not fade, but will carry the imprints of the past, making the flavor of the old town increasingly rich.

Further Reading:

· Eighth Batch of Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units