The Chen Family Compound

The Chen Family Compound

The Chen Family Compound is a Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Heritage Protection Unit.

The Chen Family Compound is located at No. 21 and No. 22, Lane 49, Caihong North Road, Jiangdong District, Ningbo City. It is adjacent to the Wang Residence at No. 59, Caihong North Road. According to local accounts, the two residences were jointly funded by two brothers surnamed Chen, both merchants. Each residence has its own independent courtyard but shares a common garden. The Chen Family Compound consists of two courtyards, with a gate in the rear courtyard leading to the garden. Along the central axis from south to north are, in sequence, the main gate, side rooms on both sides of the front courtyard, the front building, an east gate tower and west side room in the rear courtyard, and the rear building. The front building is a double-eaved, flush-gable-roofed structure with a width of three bays; the middle bay features a staircase leading to the second floor. Its framework combines through-tenon and lifted-beam construction. The front eaves’ columns are adorned with cruciform bracket sets decorated with auspicious cloud motifs, among others, using relatively high-quality timber. The rear building follows a similar layout to the front one, though with slightly inferior materials and ornamentation. The plain exterior walls and boundary stone markers are well-preserved. The overall architectural layout remains intact, with the building being both connected to and independent from the neighboring Wang Residence. It is a representative example of traditional architecture in Ningbo from the late Qing Dynasty to the early Republican period. In 2010, it was designated as part of the first batch of district-level cultural heritage protection units by the Jiangdong District People’s Government.