The Cai Family Ancestral Hall at Panhuo Bridge

The Cai Family Ancestral Hall at Panhuo Bridge

The Cai Family Ancestral Hall at Panhuo Bridge is a Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Cai Family Ancestral Hall at Panhuo Bridge is located in Panhuoqiao Village, Xiaying Subdistrict, Yinzhou District. According to Xie Guoqi’s paper “The Architecture and Cultural Philosophy of the Cai Family Ancestral Hall,” presented at the National Symposium on Ancestral Hall Architecture, the hall began as a single male-only ancestral hall in the 16th year of the Wanli era (1588) and was expanded in the 10th year of the Tongzhi reign during the Qing Dynasty (1870) to include a female section, thus becoming a unified ancestral hall for both genders, with repairs carried out during the Republican era.

The hall faces east and measures 42.5 meters in width and 56.95 meters in depth, covering an area of approximately 1,984.2 square meters. The entire structure follows a layout with the male section on the left and the female section on the right.

The central axis of the male and female ancestral halls respectively includes: courtyard, flagpole, front hall, stage, side rooms, corridor, rear hall, gate tower, courtyard, front section, and rear hall. Each section has five bays in width, with the central and side bays featuring raised-beam construction and the end bays using post-and-lintel construction, utilizing robust materials (slightly more delicate in the female section), all with exquisite decoration. Stone carvings, wood carvings, and murals are particularly refined.

This architectural concept reflecting gender equality was extremely rare in feudal society and was the first of its kind in Yinzhou District. Rich in local Ningbo characteristics, it holds significant value for historical, artistic, and ancestral hall cultural research. In January 2017, it was designated as part of the seventh batch of Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units by the People's Government of Zhejiang Province.

Source: Yinzhou District Cultural Relics Management Office

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units