The Xie Family Residence in Dingbutou

The Xie Family Residence in Dingbutou

The Xie Family Residence in Dingbutou is a Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Xie Family Residence in Dingbutou is located in Dingbutou Village, Qiaodun Town, commonly known as Guangchangnei. Built during the Qing Dynasty, it sits against a mountain and faces a stream, oriented west to east. The complex comprises a gatehouse, front building, wing rooms, and main house, forming a three-courtyard wooden structure, covering an area of approximately 5,000 square meters. The front gatehouse has a hanging gable roof, is 16.20 meters wide, and 6.0 meters deep, with side buildings housing upper floors, and the central bay serving as a passage. The front building is seven bays wide with a hanging gable roof, spanning 41.9 meters in total width and 8.3 meters in depth. The hall features a large running script plaque inscribed with “Chunxuan Changchun” (Spring Orchid and Evergreen), and the sides are adorned with couplets reading “Cranes frequently add vigor at seventy, and shared deer carts bring hundred-year longevity.” The left and right wing rooms are five bays wide, with two stories and hanging gable roofs.

The main house is seven bays wide, two stories high, with a hanging gable roof. It is a mixed post-and-lintel and Dougong-style wooden structure. The second-floor front corridor is fitted with a maidenhair railing, spanning 41.90 meters in total width and 9.0 meters in depth. The central hall displays a large regular script plaque from the fifth year of the Tongzhi reign in the Qing Dynasty (1866), inscribed with “Yingjie Lianfang” (Heroes and Elites United in Virtue).

The Xie family has a profound historical background, with many stories of family traditions passed down. The residence was built by ancestors who became wealthy through tea trade. Its eaves columns, brackets, and screen windows are exquisitely carved, featuring bas-reliefs of peonies, plum and orchid flowers, and historical figures—vivid and lifelike. The residence stands out in site selection, layout, and architectural style, representing a fine example of residential architecture from southern Zhejiang and eastern Fujian during the Qing Dynasty. It is the most intact, largest in scale, and highest in cultural value among preserved residences in the mountainous regions of Cangnan. In January 2011, it was listed as a Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Dingbutou Village: Dingbutou Village. … Detailed information about Dingbutou Village ++

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units