Memorial Archway of the Wu Wuzhuang Ancestral Hall

Memorial Archway of the Wu Wuzhuang Ancestral Hall

The Memorial Archway of the Wu Wuzhuang Ancestral Hall is a district-level cultural relics protection unit in Pukou.

Memorial Archway of the Wu Wuzhuang Ancestral Hall [Changbomen Neighborhood Committee, Taishan Subdistrict Office, Pukou District, No. 96 Dongmen Zuosuo Houjie · Qing Dynasty · District-level Cultural Relics Protection Unit] Built in memory of Wu Changqing (biography included in Draft History of Qing), military commander stationed in Pukou from the 11th year of the Tongzhi era to the 6th year of the Guangxu era (1872–1880). Wu Changqing was a general of the Huai Army; Yuan Shikai was once his student, and Nantong top scholar Zhang Jian and his elder brother Zhang ? served as his aides here in Pukou. During Wu’s deployment at the Dongmen area of Pukou, he oversaw the excavation of the Zhujiashan River. Once completed, this waterway connected the Yangtze and Chu rivers, boosting commercial prosperity in the area. After Wu Changqing passed away, the locals built the Wu Ancestral Hall to commemorate him. The Wu Ancestral Hall was located by the Zhujiashan River, where Pukou’s earliest modern school was established in 1905. Today, only the memorial archway and three side rooms remain. The archway bears a bluestone plaque inscribed with “Wu Wuzhuang Ancestral Hall.” It spans three bays (12.6 meters) and is five rafters deep (6.1 meters). Currently, the ancestral hall’s archway and all structures within the former Dongmen Primary School are unused. In 2012, the Taishan Subdistrict carried out restoration work on this complex, and related proposals were submitted to the District Culture and Broadcasting Bureau for approval. Implementation began in 2013 and is expected to be completed and operational within the year. It was designated as a district-level cultural relics protection unit in 1983.