Bi Hall

Bi Hall

Bi Hall is a cultural relic protection unit of Jiangsu Province.

Bi Hall is located at No. 21 Chaiwang Lane in Kunshan city proper, bordered by Chaiwang Lane to the south and Dongtang River to the rear. It was first built in the mid-Qing Dynasty.

After the liberation, Bi Hall was occupied by the military stationed in Kunshan. The original street-facing entrance building of the first section and the riverside hall of the third section were demolished during urban development in the 1980s. Only the second section, the main hall, remains today. On June 15, 1991, the county government and the military stationed in Kunshan signed an agreement to exchange land, and Bi Hall was allocated for use by the Calligraphy and Painting Academy of the Kunshan Federation of Literary and Art Circles.

“Bi Hall” — the only mid-Qing Dynasty residence in Kunshan city proper

Bi Hall faces south and originally covered an area of 1,345 square meters. The main hall, “Chengde Hall,” consists of five bays flanked by east and west wing rooms. It features a double-sloped hip-and-gable roof, flat-style beams, and a front porch with phoenix and cloud-patterned brackets. In 2012, a two-story antique-style “Guifeng Cottage” was added behind Chengde Hall to serve as office space. The current site now covers 1,507 square meters with a construction area of 940 square meters.

In 1991, Bi Hall was listed as a cultural relic protection unit of Kunshan City.

In December 2011, it was upgraded to a cultural relic protection unit of Jiangsu Province.

Further reading:

· Seventh Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Jiangsu Province