Xiang Family Ancestral Hall

Xiang Family Ancestral Hall

The Xiang Family Ancestral Hall is a cultural relic protection unit of Beilun District.

Housuo Village was originally the encampment of the "Thousand-Household Garrison Troops" and was initially called Housuo City. During the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty, when Japanese pirates raided the southeastern coast, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang ordered General Tang He to build coastal fortifications to defend against them. In the 18th year of the Shunzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1661), Housuo City was relocated to the flat land at the southern foot of Sleepy Dragon Palace Mountain (the current site of Housuo Village). The village has many surnames, and the majority of households, including the Xiang family, are descendants of the "Thousand-Household Garrison Troops." The founding ancestor of the Xiang family, Xiang Xinlu, migrated here from Pingyang in Wenzhou during the Hongwu era (1368–1398).

The Xiang Family Ancestral Hall is located at Chengnan Xiangjia, Housuo Village, Chaiqiao Subdistrict, Beilun District, Ningbo City. According to the 1912 edition of the Zhenhai County Annals, it was built in the 56th year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty (1791). The hall is named Dunxu Hall, faces south with a slight eastward orientation, and covers an area of 540 square meters. It consists of one main hall and one side wing. The main hall is five bays wide and features a flush-gable roof. The inner bays have four pillars and seven rafters with a five-rafter lifted-beam structure, while the outer bays and the inner side of the end bays have seven pillars and seven rafters with a through-tenon structure. The end bays are covered with a four-pillar lean-to extension, with double-step beams extending outward from the front and rear central pillars on both sides, and curved beams extending outward from the front and rear eave pillars. During the Republican era, four side rooms were added to the west side of the main hall, featuring three pillars and three rafters with a through-tenon structure and a flush-gable roof. Inside the east end bay of the main hall, there is also a wooden plaque from the 28th year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1699) inscribed with “Xi Chou Ling Fan.”

This ancestral hall has a long history, uses large and sturdy materials, features exquisite craftsmanship and carvings, maintains a regular layout, and is generally well-preserved. It holds significant historical, artistic, and scientific value.