The Wu Family Ancestral Hall in Shitan

The Wu Family Ancestral Hall in Shitan

The Wu Family Ancestral Hall in Shitan is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Wu Family Ancestral Hall in Shitan from the Ming and Qing dynasties in She County, Huangshan City

The Wu Family Ancestral Hall includes Xulun Hall and Chunhui Hall. Xulun Hall, also known as the Lower Gate Ancestral Hall or Hundred-Beam Hall, was first built during the Jiaqing era of the Ming Dynasty (1554) and underwent repairs in the Qing Dynasty. It features five bays across three courtyards, is 15 meters wide and 45 meters deep, with 100 beams of various sizes in the middle courtyard. The rear courtyard has been rebuilt; the front courtyard reflects the Qing Dynasty style, with exquisitely carved bracket arms and diagonal braces on the gatehouse featuring the Eight Immortals; the middle courtyard still retains the Ming Dynasty style, with inverted-basin pedestals, hidden-flower bridle-and-girder under the moon beams, lotus-shaped capitals under the short and main columns, inverted willow flower inserts at the junction of beams and smaller beams, along with carved supporting beams and flower-latticed spandrels, all of which are highly ornate. This hall is a traditional Huizhou-style corridor-courtyard ancestral hall, with a three-courtyard and two-open-hall layout, a five-phoenix tower entrance, soaring wing corners, an elaborate beam structure, intricate carvings and decorations, and a rich spatial hierarchy, giving it a unique architectural style.

Chunhui Hall, also known as the Upper Gate Ancestral Hall, was built in the Qing Dynasty, faces west and is oriented eastward. It has three courtyards and three bays, with a total width of 10.8 meters and a depth of 42.2 meters. It is surrounded by mountains on all sides, with the Lailong Mountain to the east, the Hundred-Beam Hall to the south, the Zhishan Hall adjacent to the north, and the main street of Shitan Village to the west. Stone drums stand on either side of the main gate, and the central hall is spacious with thick beams and columns. The interior features distinctive brick, wood, and stone carvings, and the rear courtyard has stone railings and pillars. This hall has all three courtyards intact, with a lofty structure. The front eaves beam of the middle courtyard spans the full width, and the entire hall is painted red. It is a traditional Huizhou-style ancestral hall built during the Republican era and holds significant importance for the study of the evolution of Huizhou ancestral halls.

These two ancestral halls are both ancestral temples of the Hong family—one being the main clan temple and the other a branch temple—representing typical characteristics of Huizhou ancestral halls from different periods and types, and hold important value for the study of Huizhou’s patriarchal system and architectural history.

On October 7, 2019, the Wu Family Ancestral Hall in Shitan was included in the eighth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Protected area: within the drip line of the eaves on all sides.

Construction control zone: 50 meters outside the protected area on all sides.

Further reading:

· Eighth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units