Yangzhou Shanxi-Shaanxi Guild Hall

Yangzhou Shanxi-Shaanxi Guild Hall

The Yangzhou Shanxi-Shaanxi Guild Hall is a protected cultural heritage site of Yangzhou City.

The Yangzhou Shanxi-Shaanxi Guild Hall is located at No. 250 Dongguan Street in Yangzhou and dates back to the Qing Dynasty.

Located from No. 250 to No. 262 on Dongguan Street, the Shanxi-Shaanxi Guild Hall was established by salt merchants from Shanxi and Shaanxi as their guild hall in Yangzhou, and is the earliest such guild hall in the city. Originally located on Nanmen Street in the old city, it was later moved to Dongguan Street. The guild hall spans over five mu in area and features a layout with a front hall and rear residence, including a rear building and garden. It exhibits architectural characteristics of Shanxi-style design, and at the base of the northern wall is embedded a stone stele inscribed with “Northern Boundary Marker of the Shanxi-Shaanxi Guild Hall Foundation.”

The Shanxi and Shaanxi salt merchants were financially powerful and skilled in business management. During the Ming Dynasty’s Jiajing era, they organized 500 guards to resist Japanese pirates and participated in the construction of Yangzhou’s new city. Among the notable figures from that time in Yangzhou were Kang Hai from Xi’an Prefecture and Kang’s family from Pingyang, with historical relics such as Kangshan Thatched Cottage and Sanyi Pavilion still remaining.

On January 8, 2008, the Yangzhou Municipal People’s Government designated it as part of the fourth batch of municipal-level cultural heritage protection units in Yangzhou.

Further reading:

· List of the Fourth Batch of Cultural Heritage Protection Units in Yangzhou City