Chongren Village Architectural Complex

Chongren Village Architectural Complex

The Chongren Village Architectural Complex is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The ancient architectural complex of Chongren Village is located in Chongren Town, northwest of Shengzhou City, Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province.

The ancient town of Chongren was first built in the Tang Dynasty, rose to prominence in the Southern Song Dynasty, and prospered during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. During the War of Resistance against Japan, while most parts of Zhejiang were successively occupied, Chongren’s local gentry managed to keep the Japanese at bay, preserving the town as an “island of refuge.” Merchants from Hangzhou, Shaoxing, Ningbo, and Wenzhou gathered here, with more than 280 businesses, leading to rapid development in urban construction and commerce.

The ancient town covers a vast area of 3 square kilometers, with clear development trajectories from the Ming, Qing, and Republican periods, maintaining an intact layout. It boasts a large number of ancient buildings with a complete sequence from the Ming Dynasty to the Republican era, featuring a rich variety of types — including traditional ancestral halls, residences, academies, factories, shops, workshops, temples, ancestral shrines, as well as well-preserved modern township administrative institutions such as courts and police stations, reflecting the historical evolution of the social system. Particularly significant structures within the Chongren architectural complex include: the Yushan Ancestral Hall — the largest ancestral hall of the Qiu family; the Five-Linked Gate Complex — a large residential compound where the Qiu family lived together; and modern self-governing township administrative buildings such as the Town Office and Court. The current state of preservation of Chongren’s buildings is good, with little major change to the surrounding historical environment. The area was formed by merging the former Chongren Town, Furun Town, and Guangli Township. It borders Gulaizhen and Shaoxing County to the north, neighbors Yanhu and Lushan Subdistricts to the east, connects to Ganlin Town to the south, and adjoins Shihuang Town to the west. It lies against Mount Wulong (commonly known as Five Hundred Peaks), with the Changshan Stream (Chongren River) flowing through the town.

In 2006, the ancient architectural complex of Chongren Village, recognized as a Qing Dynasty structure, was listed by the State Council as a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Location of the Attraction

Chongren Village, Shengzhou City, Zhejiang Province

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units