Former Site of the British Consulate in Wenzhou

Former Site of the British Consulate in Wenzhou

The Former Site of the British Consulate in Wenzhou is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Former Site of the British Consulate in Wenzhou

Era: 1894

Location: Jiangxin Islet. In 1876, the Sino-British Yantai Treaty designated Wenzhou as a treaty port for trade. The following April, a British consul took office in Wenzhou. In the 20th year of the Guangxu reign (1894), a three-story Western-style building was constructed to serve as the consulate. It covers an area of 1,309 square meters and is a three-story brick-and-wood structure. The building is 14 meters wide and 11 meters deep, with a small entrance hall in the center housing the main staircase, and six rooms on each side. The façade features an arcade with arched colonnades, exposed brick walls, and arched brick window frames. In 1895, a two-story building was added to the north, facing south, measuring 11 meters in width and 9 meters in depth. Today, the former consulate site has been transformed into an exhibition room for modern Wenzhou history, displaying materials related to the city’s recent past.

On October 7, 2019, the Former Site of the British Consulate in Wenzhou was included in the eighth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Source: Zhejiang Cultural Relics Website

Further Reading:

· Fourth Batch of Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Eighth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units