East Gate Stone Archway

East Gate Stone Archway

The East Gate Stone Archway is a cultural relic protection unit of Fujian Province.

The East Gate Stone Archway is located 150 meters east of Dongmen Village, Dongzhen Town, Xianyou County. Constructed in the fifth year of the Daoguang reign during the Qing Dynasty (1825), it was built to commend Chen Tiangao and his son for their donation to establish the Jinshi Academy. It was crafted by master mason Guo Huai and his apprentices. The archway features four pillars, three bays, and five stories, designed in a wooden pavilion style, standing 11.5 meters tall with a hip-and-gable roof. The top level has round-carved dragon columns at each corner, while the central pavilion boasts exquisitely carved dragon plaques with delicately perforated designs, and the central plaque is inscribed with “Imperial Decree.” The roof corners curl upward on all four sides, and at the ends of the main ridge sit two dragons facing each other, with a flaming pearl at the center. The second level features delicate carvings on both sides, and the horizontal beams are adorned with sculptures of figures, flowers, and animals—totaling 200 human figures. The middle level bears a plaque inscribed with the characters “Lè Shàn Hào Shī” (Charity and Kindness), each pillar being square with a side length of 0.60 meters, and the large horizontal beam above is decorated with bas-relief carvings of clouds and dragons. The East Gate Stone Archway was designated as a cultural relic protection unit of Fujian Province in 1985.