Liangdi Ancient Village

Liangdi Ancient Village

A renowned historical and cultural village in China—Liangdi Village in Wanquan Township, Jiangle County, Fujian Province—boasts a history of nearly a thousand years. This ancient village is composed of various historic structures such as covered bridges, ancestral halls, clan temples, and traditional houses. The entire settlement clings to the mountainside, offering a perfect showcase of the vernacular architecture of the Hakka people in northwestern Fujian.

The Liangdi ancient architectural complex consists mainly of residential buildings from the Ming and Qing dynasties. It includes six well-preserved vernacular structures: the Wenwu Temple, the Liang Clan Ancestral Hall, the Xuyan Courtyard, the Yueshan Public House, the Guanqun Granary, and the Shuwei Wooden Covered Bridge, with a total of 23 historic buildings still standing today. The Liangdi ancient architectural complex is not only the core and essence of the landscape architecture of this mountainous ancient village but also a perfect representation of the vernacular architecture of the Hakka people in northwestern Fujian.

To enter Liangdi Village, you must cross the Shuwei Wooden Covered Bridge, a century-old bridge that spans the Liangdi Stream. The bridge houses six shrines and a Jiling Palace, enshrining figures such as Sakyamuni, the True Martial Emperor, Mazu, Xu Zhenren, Xiao Gong Zunwang, and the local earth god Fude. This arrangement is very rare in Fujian.

As the old saying goes, “Food is the first necessity of the people,” and granaries were vital for grain storage in ancient times. In Liangdi, a group of granaries from the Ming and Qing periods still remains, and their grain-storing function continues to be used to this day. It is understood that having a large number of granaries clustered together is rare in Fujian. Unlike official Changping Granaries, these were rare family-owned grain storage facilities in ancient times. To prevent the destruction of both homes and stored goods in case of fire, the villagers of Liangdi built their granaries separately from their residences. These granaries stand either individually or in clusters, with stone and earthen platforms constructed in front for drying grain. Some even have surrounding walls.

Stepping into the Yueshan Public House, this ancient residence was built in the 43rd year of the Qianlong reign during the Qing Dynasty (1778). It consists of a right-side entrance corridor, a main building with an upper and lower hall arranged around a courtyard, a study room at the rear left, and a library at the rear right. The house spans 22.77 meters in width and 17.71 meters in depth, covering a total area of 362.15 square meters. Its owner, Liang Yueshan, was a prolific writer, authoring 23 volumes including the “Yueshan Posthumous Writings,” giving rise to the saying, “Yang Guishan within the city, Liang Yueshan outside the city.” The Jing Si Zhai (Meditation Studio), facing east, is nearly 8 meters deep and comprises stone steps at the hall entrance, a drainage ditch, brick walls, a courtyard, a wooden screen wall, side rooms, a book hall, and a study. The surrounding wall is taller than the roof structure, and the wooden screen wall features an embedded dragon-inscribed plaque with exquisite wood carvings.

In 2014, Liangdi Village was designated as part of the sixth batch of China's Historical and Cultural Villages by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and the National Cultural Heritage Administration. The Liangdi ancient architectural complex consists mainly of residential buildings from the Ming and Qing dynasties. It includes six well-preserved vernacular structures: the Wenwu Temple, the Liang Clan Ancestral Hall, the Xuyan Courtyard, the Yueshan Public House, the Guanqun Granary, and the Shuwei Wooden Covered Bridge, with a total of 23 historic buildings still standing today. The Liangdi ancient architectural complex is not only the core and essence of the landscape architecture of this mountainous ancient village but also a perfect representation of the vernacular architecture of the Hakka people in northwestern Fujian.