Ancestral Hall of the Xu Clan and Tingquan Tower

Ancestral Hall of the Xu Clan and Tingquan Tower

The Ancestral Hall of the Xu Clan and Tingquan Tower are cultural heritage sites protected at the provincial level in Anhui Province.

The Ancestral Hall of the Xu Clan and Tingquan Tower are provincial-level cultural heritage sites, located in the center of Shikantou Village, Jiapeng Township, Jixi County. The Xu Clan Ancestral Hall covers an area of 335 square meters. The hall faces southeast and sits northwest, overlooking a mountain stream. It has seven bays in width and four in depth. The roof is of the flush-gable style with firewalls. The floor is paved with square bricks. The structure features prismatic columns, bracket sets, pendant lotus columns, lotus-shaped dougong, cloud-patterned braces, and carvings on the lower section of the moon beams. This ancestral hall was built before the mid-Ming Dynasty and is considered a rare masterpiece among the traditional Ming-style ancestral architecture still preserved in Huizhou to this day. Tingquan Tower is about ten meters away from the Xu Clan Ancestral Hall, covering an area of 30 square meters. It has two stories, with a rectangular foundation facing the mountain stream. The tower is equipped with a “beauty’s lean” railing and bears a plaque inscribed with the name “Tingquan” (Listen to the Spring). The roof is of the hip-and-gable style with a central waist eave, allowing visitors to climb up and enjoy the view. Its spandrels, diagonal braces, and dougong are all adorned with carvings. Wind chimes hang from the two main flying corners facing the mountain stream. It serves as the “finishing touch” of the ancient village of Shikantou. In May 1998, it was designated as a provincial-level cultural heritage site, with approval document number Wan Zheng [1998] No. 16.

Protected Area: 10 meters beyond the main structures of the ancestral hall and Tingquan Tower in the east, south, west, and north directions

Construction Control Zone: From the main structures northwestward to the mountain stream; 20 meters in the southeast, east-west, and north-south directions.

Jiapeng Township: Jiapeng Township is located in the northeast corner of Jixi County, 42 kilometers from the county seat. It lies at the junction of two provinces (Anhui and Zhejiang) and three county-level cities (Jixi County, Ningguo City, and Lin’an City), covering an area of over 90 square kilometers. It administers 8 village committees, 68 natural villages, and 99 villager groups. The township has a total of 3,835 households with a population of 12,969, including 12,432 agricultural residents. The arable land covers 6,090 mu, including 5,310 mu of paddy fields, and the mountainous forest area spans approximately 140,000 mu. It is the hometown of Xu Jiapeng, an international communist fighter and first-class combat hero of the Korean War.

Jiapeng… More detailed information about Jiapeng Township++