Carved Flower Building at Kou’an Port

Carved Flower Building at Kou’an Port

The Carved Flower Building at Kou’an Port is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction and a cultural relic protection unit of Jiangsu Province.

In the fourth year of the Qianlong reign during the Qing Dynasty (1739 AD), a timber merchant surnamed Yao from Jiangnan initially built the Carved Flower Building (now the East Building) at Kou’an. In the early years of the Republic of China, the building was acquired by Li Songru, a local Confucian merchant engaged in Yangtze River shipping. Following the original architectural style, Li extended the West Building and wing rooms, as well as expanded the garden landscape outside the building, a project that took three years to complete. In 2002, the Carved Flower Building at Kou’an was designated as a provincial-level cultural relic protection unit by the Jiangsu Provincial People’s Government.

The garden features exquisitely charming pavilions, towers, terraces, and open halls, all delicate and elegant. The corridors, verandas, and waterside pavilions are gracefully designed, with winding streams and flowing wine cups adding poetic charm. The stunning wood carvings such as “Prosperity as Vast as the Eastern Sea” and “Rhinoceros Gazing at the Moon,” the vivid brick carvings like “Lion Rolling a Ball” and “Music, Chess, Calligraphy, and Painting,” and the profound stone carvings including “Five Blessings Descend Upon the Door” and “Five Blessings Surround Longevity” are all masterpieces of the carving art of their time. These artworks express deep meanings and refined sentiments. Films such as From Slave to General, Winter Without Snow, and Eastward March Overture were shot here.

Carved Flower Building at Kou’an Port

Fifth Batch of Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units, October 2002 — Carved Flower Building at Kou’an Port, Qing Dynasty, Gaogang District, Taizhou City

Address: South side of Wuyi Bridge, Jinguang South Road, Gaogang District, Taizhou City

Type: Historical Architecture

Recommended visiting time: 1–2 hours

Phone: 0523-86910186

Opening Hours:

Summer: 9:00–17:30; Winter: 9:00–17:00

Address: No. 1 Xiangyang Branch Road, Gaogang District, Taizhou City

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units