Huatan Ancient Architectural Complex

Huatan Ancient Architectural Complex

The Huatan Ancient Architectural Complex is a Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Huatan Ancient Architectural Complex (Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit)

Era: Ming and Qing Dynasties

Announcement Date: August 29, 1997

Located on the western bank of Zhenxi River in Huatan Township, Yongjia County. The founding ancestor, Zhu Xing, served as the Yongjia Commandant during the Five Dynasties period. He admired the beautiful scenery of the streams and mountains here and thus settled down. The village is rectangular in shape, facing south with its back to the north, surrounded by a stone fortress wall with gateways on the east, north, and west sides. It houses over 50 ancient structures including residential houses, ancestral temples, memorial archways, and pavilions.

Residential houses are built along the mountain slopes, arranged in a well-balanced layout with varying heights. The floor plans of individual buildings come in various forms such as linear, square, and “曰”-shaped, while their facades range from single-story to two-story structures. The “Four-Sided House” in Hu’er Village consists of front and rear wing corridors, as well as front and rear halls, covering an area of up to 1,600 square meters.

There are four ancestral halls, all grand in scale. The Wufu Ancestral Hall is the oldest, originally named Dunmu Ancestral Hall. Built during the Zhengtong era of the Ming Dynasty (1436–1449), it is a two-courtyard complex with two corridors, featuring a central stage. It covers an area of 600 square meters. The front hall has nine bays in width and two bays in depth, with sturdy beams and densely layered brackets. It has a flush-gable roof. The main bay of the roof is higher than the secondary bays, which are in turn higher than the outer bays, forming a triple-eave structure.

There are also two memorial archways, “Xiantai” and “Xishan Diyi,” both built during the Ming Dynasty. The former has a rectangular floor plan with six pillars and three stories. It stands 5.95 meters high, is 6.28 meters wide, and 5.05 meters deep. The central beam and lintel feature an inscribed plaque reading “Xiantai.” Its beam structure follows the post-and-lintel style, and the roof ridge is made of plain brick adorned with dragon head ornaments at both ends.

There are multiple pavilions, each uniquely designed. Roadside pavilions are located at intersections, road edges, or junctions, usually square-shaped with four, eight, or sixteen pillars, and are equipped with outer railings. Their roofs come in various styles such as single-eave hip-and-gable, double-eave hip-and-gable, and double-slope flush-gable. At the intersection where three paths meet in the center of the village stands the Sanguan Pavilion. It has a square floor plan, four inner pillars, and sixteen eave pillars, with brackets and caisson ceilings, featuring painted decorations and shrines.

The concentration of so many ancient architectural structures within one village, all remarkably well-preserved, is truly a marvel among stream-and-mountain landscapes.

Source: Zhejiang Cultural Relics Network

Huatan Township: A township under the jurisdiction of Yongjia County. In 1949, it consisted of three townships: Huatan, Langxia, and Huangcun. In 1956, they were merged into Donggang Township, which was split again the same year into Langxia and Huangcun. In 1961, it was remerged and renamed Huatan Commune, and became a township in 1984. It is located in the eastern part of the county, covering an area of 72 square kilometers with a population of 23,000. It is connected by road to the Xian (Ju) Qing (Shuibei) Highway. The township administers Huasan, Huer, Huayi, Zhangshuniao, Matian, Kezhu, 24*, Gaokeng, Dongguang, Dong’ao Di, Shuiyan, Shigongtian, Huangcun, Xibei, Zhenxi, Jiaheshan, Xiashan, Toushan, Zhen’ao, Shuangxi, Hutou, Lang… More detailed information on Huatan Township++

Further Reading:

· Fourth Batch of Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units