The Cao Family Ancestral Temple in Shangcao

The Cao Family Ancestral Temple in Shangcao

The Cao Family Ancestral Temple in Shangcao is a cultural heritage site protected at the provincial level in Fujian Province.

The Cao Family Ancestral Temple in Shangcao is located in Shangcao Village, Caofang Township, Ninghua County, dating back to the Qing Dynasty.

Description: Also known as the Yulin Ancestral Hall, it was built in the fifth year of the Qianlong reign during the Qing Dynasty (1740). The temple faces southwest and is backed by northeast, consisting of a front courtyard, gate tower, lower hall, central courtyard, corridor, main hall, rear courtyard, side rooms, back garden, and wing rooms, covering a construction area of 1,261 square meters. The main hall is five bays wide and eight bays deep with a front corridor, featuring a post-and-lintel and through-tenon style timber frame and a flush gable roof. In 1930, armed uprisings by local farmers from Caofang Township were active inside the ancestral temple. The “Ninghua County Southern Revolutionary Committee,” established in 1930, and the “Caofang District Soviet Government,” founded in 1931, were both headquartered here.

In 2013, the Cao Family Ancestral Temple in Shangcao was designated as part of the eighth batch of provincial-level cultural heritage sites by the People’s Government of Fujian Province.

Protected area: An additional 10-meter buffer zone around the ancestral temple.

Further reading:

· Eighth Batch of Provincial-Level Cultural Heritage Sites in Fujian Province