The Dacheng Hall of Changzhou County School

The Dacheng Hall of Changzhou County School

The Dacheng Hall of Changzhou County School is a Suzhou Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Dacheng Hall of Changzhou County School is located within Pingjiang Experimental School on Ganjiang East Road and was designated as a Suzhou Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Unit in 1998.

Changzhou County School was established in the first year of the Xianchun era of the Southern Song Dynasty (1265), built from the reconstruction of Guanghua Temple. It underwent several renovations during the Yuan and Ming dynasties, known as the "Old School." In the 20th year of the Jiajing era of the Ming Dynasty (1541), it was relocated to its current site and reconstructed from Funing Chengshou Temple, hence called the "New School." In the third year of the Yongzheng era...

...(1725), it served as the county school for both Changzhou and Yuanhe counties. The existing Dacheng Hall was rebuilt in the eighth year of the Guangxu era (1882). It features a double-eaved hip-and-gable roof, spans seven bays with a width of 32 meters, and has a depth of six rafters (17 meters). It has flat-style beams, with bracket sets between outer eaves on all four sides. A moon platform is located at the front, and the structure has been repaired in recent years.

The Changyuan County School not only featured two distinct functional sections — a temple on the left and a school on the right — but also had numerous green spaces and small gardens in its northern and eastern areas. According to records, north of Daoshan Pavilion, the eastern side was a vegetable plot while the western side was the Peach and Plum Garden. To the southeast was the Spring Banquet Garden, with a small earthen hill, pine trees, and dozens of varieties of flowers. To its east grew hundreds of bamboo poles, named the Little Qiyuan Garden. Additionally, east of the Yudai River, “there were several acres of fields that could provide grain offerings.”

Another distinctive feature of the Changyuan County School is that it is surrounded by rivers on all sides. Originally, it faced the Fourth Straight River to the west and the Second Cross River to the south. Later, a canal was dug near Shenglong Bridge in the southeast to divert water from the Second Cross River northward, then westward to connect with the Fourth Straight River, forming a river encircling the school like a jade belt, hence the name Yudai River (Jade Belt River).

The site still preserves over ten ancient ginkgo trees that are over a hundred years old, making it one of the locations within the ancient city of Suzhou with the highest concentration of heritage trees. Thanks to the shelter and ambiance provided by these ancient trees, the majestic Dacheng Hall appears even more imposing and extraordinary.

According to the Republican-era Wu County Annals and its accompanying Changyuan School Map, the architectural layout of the Changyuan County School was standardized and grand in scale, considered an outstanding example among similar structures.