The Three Cheng Family Residences

The Three Cheng Family Residences

The Three Cheng Family Residences are a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

In Boxi Street, Tunxi District, there are three ancient Ming Dynasty buildings located at No. 6, No. 7, and No. 28 of Dongli Lane, Boxi, Tunxi. Constructed during the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty by Cheng Minzheng, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, they are collectively known as the “Three Cheng Family Residences.”

The Three Cheng Family Residences hold significant scientific and aesthetic value, and were praised by Professor Fu Xinián, an ancient architecture expert from the Palace Museum in Beijing, as the “treasures of Ming Dynasty residential architecture.”

No. 7 and No. 8 residences are connected, while No. 28 stands to the east. The three buildings share similar structures but each has its own distinctive features.

No. 7 was built in the early Ming Dynasty (1368 AD), over 600 years ago. Its Ming-era owner was a relative of Cheng Minzheng, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites who served as the chief examiner for Tang Bohu.

No. 8 has the richest cultural content, featuring a cautionary stone inscribed with “Dripping water penetrates stone,” and a large-scale woodcut painting series composed of 108 scenes that showcase the essence of Huizhou wood carving.

No. 28 is an official-merchant residence, notable for its unique door hood, which is representative of Huizhou stone carving.

All three residences are five-bay, two-story post-and-lintel style buildings, with front and rear wing rooms, a central courtyard, resembling a traditional sanheyuan (courtyard house). They feature rigorous structures, exquisite decorations, and a simple, elegant ancient style.

Among the three, the Cheng Mengzhou Residence is the most typical. This five-bay, two-story building has a depth of 16.1 meters and a width of 13.6 meters. It has wing rooms on both sides, with a courtyard in the middle, forming an indistinctly concave layout. The beams of the five-rafter frame are adorned with colorful patterned paintings in Ming Dynasty style, which are rare among Ming-era residences in Huizhou. The upper eaves feature hanging lotus columns equipped with “flying chairs” (backrests), whose column sections are square with rounded corners. The upper ends of the columns have inserted arches projecting out to support the eave purlins. The roof is of the flush-gable type, with staggered fire walls of varying heights, giving the residence a sense of depth and quietude. A property deed from the first year of the Tianqi era (1621 AD) is preserved, written in ink on rice paper with ten lines, and signed “Sold by Cheng Boqiu on the twelfth day of the intercalary second month of the first year of Tianqi (seal).”

Located within Dongli Lane in Boxi, these three Ming Dynasty residences are all enclosed, three-story brick-and-wood structures with a single ridge and two halls. Their roofs are covered with butterfly tiles, the surrounding walls are fully enclosed, and they are lit through the central courtyard. The beams are decorated with painted patterns, and the upper eaves have hanging lotus columns with flying chairs. These houses exhibit a unique Ming Dynasty architectural style. The carvings are elegant, delicate, solemn, and highly three-dimensional, and their architectural characteristics have drawn widespread attention from the global architecture community.

On June 25, 2001, the Three Cheng Family Residences, as Ming Dynasty architecture, were approved by the State Council to be included in the fifth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Protected area: A one-meter buffer zone extending beyond the wall foundations of the three residences (i.e., No. 6, No. 7, and No. 28) in the east, south, west, and north directions.

Construction control zone: A 50-meter buffer zone extending beyond the protected area in the east, south, west, and north directions.

Ticket price: 30 yuan

Opening hours: 8:30 – 17:00

Further reading:

· Fifth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units