Zhou Family Ancestral Hall in Ningbo

Zhou Family Ancestral Hall in Ningbo

The Zhou Family Ancestral Hall is a cultural relic protection unit of Haishu District.

The Zhou Family Ancestral Hall is located at No. 2, Xinzhuang Natural Village, Xinzhuang Village, Gaoqiao Town, Haishu District. According to the Zhou family genealogy, it was first built during the Dingyou year of the Daoguang reign in the Qing Dynasty. The main structure faces south with a slight westward orientation, consisting of a front, middle, and rear section, along with two side wings, covering a total area of 684.42 square meters. The front section serves as the entrance hall, a single-eave, flush-gable roofed single-story building with seven bays in width and four pillars and seven rafters in depth. The central bay features a pair of large wooden doors, while a pair of intricately carved stone lion door pillars on either side are vividly lifelike. The middle section is the main hall, a single-eave, high single-story building with a flush-gable roof, featuring five bays in width. The central and adjacent bays have a depth of four pillars and nine rafters, using a five-rafter raised-beam structure with double steps front and back. The side bays use central pillars and a through-tenon construction style. The rear walls of the central and adjacent bays house portraits and memorial tablets of the Zhou ancestors for worship by clan members. The rear section is a two-story building with a double-eave, flush-gable roof, featuring five bays in width. The central and adjacent bays have a depth of four pillars and seven rafters, with a five-rafter raised-beam structure and a single step front and back. The side bays use central pillars, with five pillars reaching the ground. Side rooms are situated between the front and middle sections, consisting of a single-eave, flush-gable roofed two-story building with three bays in width and one bay in depth. Corridors are located on both sides between the middle and rear sections, renovated in later periods.

The Zhou Family Ancestral Hall boasts a well-organized layout, grand and spacious architecture, and high-quality materials. Its brackets (dougong), spandrels (que ti), and other carved elements are exquisitely detailed and vivid, giving the structure significant artistic and historical value. It was designated as the ninth batch of district-level cultural relic protection units in Yinzhou District in September 2010, and was placed under the administration of Haishu District following the 2016 administrative division adjustment of Ningbo City.

Information provided by: Haishu District Cultural Relics Management Office

Xinzhuang Village: Xinzhuang Village…… More details about Xinzhuang Village++