Fengqi Wu Family Mansion

Fengqi Wu Family Mansion

The Fengqi Wu Family Mansion is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Era: Qing Dynasty

Address: Fengqi Natural Village, Fengli Village, Zhaoyang Township, Zhengrong County, Ningde City, Fujian Province, 20 km from Zhengrong County seat

The mansion was built during the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty (1736–1795), facing south and built against a mountain. It has inner and outer walls, gardens surrounding the complex, with an overall width of 76 meters and depth of 99.1 meters, covering a total area of 7,531.6 square meters (11.3 mu), including a building footprint of 2,391.52 square meters. The first-level terrace is 56 meters wide and 9.5 meters deep. The entrance gate is a single-eave brick-and-wood structure with a through-tenon style and a hip-and-gable roof, spanning three bays. The second gate is a hybrid structure of blue bricks and lime-soil, with a three-story, memorial archway-style roof; the horizontal plaque reads “Fengqi Ju Xiu” (Fengqi Gathering Beauty) in running script on the front, and “Ren Yi Wei Lu” (Benevolence and Righteousness as Home) on the inside. On the second to fifth terraces are four horizontally arranged buildings spaced at intervals, flanked by wing rooms, with longitudinal, single-windowed corridor pavilions on both sides of the central courtyard that divide the horizontal buildings into three longitudinal courtyards. Between the third and fourth terraces, a horizontal hollow-brick protective wall is built to separate the building complex into front and rear zones.

The main structures are all wood-framed through-tenon style, double-layered with double eaves and hip-and-gable roofs, each spanning 11 bays in width and 3 bays in depth, with the central bay single-storied and reaching the roof. Corridors, side wing rooms, and kitchens are mostly wood-framed through-tenon style with hanging gables, among which the wing rooms are two-storied with double eaves. The entire building has 27 courtyards and over 100 decorative lattice windows. There is an abundance of elaborately crafted brackets and carved wooden doors and windows. The architectural layout, lighting, ventilation, and drainage systems are quite scientific. In particular, the hollow-brick walls are interspersed with bamboo poles roasted with fire to enhance anti-theft features. There are multiple lime-soil imitation stone railings and water channels that are remarkably realistic, even surpassing modern concrete sand-blasted railings. The main structure of the building is relatively well-preserved and holds high artistic, scientific, historical, and tourism development value. It was designated as a County-Level Cultural Relics Protection Unit in 2002.

Fengli Village: Overview of Fengli Village

Administrative Affiliation and Transportation: Fengli Village is located in the southeastern part of Zhaoyang Township, 25 km from Zhengrong County seat and 15 km from the township government seat. It borders Changqi Village and Xikou Village of Zhaoyang Township to the east, Qianlou Village of Zhaoyang Township to the southwest, and touches Niudian Town of Fuding City to the north.

Village and Residents: Fengli Village currently has 179 households and 726 residents, and administers five natural villages: Banduli, Yangchou, Yanquli, Fengqi, and Houpingzi, divided into six villager groups.

Climate and Products: Fengli Village sits at an elevation of 580 meters and belongs to the mid-subtropical maritime... Detailed information about Fengli Village++

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of Fujian Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units