Piancheng Liujiazhai

Piancheng Liujiazhai

Liujiazhai is located on a flat, elevated mound in Piancheng Village, Piancheng Town, She County, on the eastern foothills of the Taihang Mountains. It is a relatively well-preserved, typical cluster of northern-style courtyard residences. Its earliest construction dates back to the late Song and early Yuan dynasties, with over 80% of the current structures built during the Qing Dynasty and the early Republican period. All buildings are made of brick, stone, wood, and earth, enclosed by stone walls as high as 10 meters. According to the *She County Place Names Record*, during the late Song and early Yuan dynasties, the Liu family migrated from Tongyu Village, Shangwuli, Liaozhou (now Zuojun County), Shanxi, to this area. As generations of the family served as officials, they gradually became a prominent clan. They built stone walls around the settlement, established gates to the southeast and north, creating a small, easily defensible hilltop stronghold. It was initially named “Yong’an Fort” (Everlasting Peace Fort). Due to its remote location, it came to be called “Piancheng” (Remote Town), and as the original owners were surnamed Liu, it is now commonly referred to as “Liujiazhai” (Liu Family Fort).

Upon entering Liujiazhai, ancient structures such as the “General’s Mansion” and the “Jinshi (Imperial Examination Graduate) Residence” still exude an imposing aura. The roadside gate towers feature exquisitely crafted upturned eaves and bracket sets. The lintels on either side of the main gates are mostly upright bluestones, engraved with various couplets. The grand gate towers and high steps are all paved with bluestones, with drainage channels beneath the lower steps. Many mounting stones and horse tethering stones (stone rings) remain well-preserved. The roofs are mostly gabled with upturned eaves, round rafters, square tiles, roof ridges, and decorative animal figures at both ends, many of which are exquisitely carved. This ancient village holds significant scientific and artistic value, embodying elements of architecture, painting, literature, calligraphy, sculpture, and arts and crafts. The old fort remains largely undeveloped, preserving its relatively primitive condition.

A Six-Hundred-Year-Old “Enclave” – Piancheng Town is located 30 kilometers north of She County’s county seat, bordering Zuojun County of Shanxi Province to the west and Wu’an City of Hebei Province to the east. This town situated at the border of two provinces was a “chāhuā qū” (enclave) for 604 years, from 1336 to 1940, spanning the Yuan, Ming, Qing dynasties and the Republican era. Despite not sharing any borders with Licheng County of Shanxi, it was under the jurisdiction of Licheng County. Why? The answer points to Liu Zhen — the Chongzhou prefect during the late Jin and early Yuan dynasties.

At that time, Chongzhou’s jurisdiction mainly covered Licheng County and She County, but not Piancheng Town. Piancheng was Liu Zhen’s hometown. “Perhaps out of ‘favoritism’ for his hometown, Liu Zhen claimed Piancheng from elsewhere (within his administrative region) and brought it under his control.” Thereafter, Chongzhou’s jurisdiction included three separate administrative regions — Licheng County, She County, and Piancheng Town.

In 1336, Piancheng Town was placed under the jurisdiction of Licheng County in Shanxi. However, Piancheng Town was separated from Licheng County by areas such as Liaocheng Township and Suobao Town in She County. This unique administrative history is the sole ace that allowed Piancheng Village to apply for the title of “China’s Historical and Cultural Famous Village.”

“Piancheng” is not a real city — it only has three gates (north, south, and east), not four. The reason is related to the “Five Elements and Eight Trigrams” — the north gate represents water, which generates wood; the south gate represents fire, which is generated by wood; the east gate represents wood, supporting other wood; the west gate represents metal, which conquers wood, hence no west gate was built.

There is no doubt that Liujiazhai was built by the Liu family. But who exactly within the Liu family built the fort remains unresolved to this day. Liu descendants can only speculate that the construction may have been related to Liu Zhen. Their reasoning is that, starting with Liu Zhen, four generations of the Liu family served as officials, making them a local gentry family at the time. Therefore, Liu Zhen is revered by later generations as the “progenitor” of the Liu family. It is likely during that period that the Liu family built “Yong’an Fort” — using bluestones as bricks to construct 10-meter-high walls, and opening three gates to the east, south, and north, with the east gate as the main entrance, inscribed with “Yong’an Fort,” symbolizing that the Liu descendants living in the fort would “enjoy everlasting peace.”

In January 1940, Piancheng broke away from Licheng County’s jurisdiction and established the Piancheng County Anti-Japanese Government. Six years later, the county was dissolved and merged into She County. During these seven years, the vanguard regiment of the Eighth Route Army’s 129th Division was also secretly stationed here, adding a “red history” chapter to this mountain fort. A “Martyrs’ Pavilion” was built in Donglutou Village, Lutou Township, named the “Piancheng County Martyrs’ Pavilion.”

The “General’s Mansion” is located at the southern end of “Liumen Gelang” (Six-Gate Alley) and is the most imposing residence in the fort. This three-courtyard compound is built along the mountain slope, which is higher in the west and lower in the east, with a height difference of 9 meters from the main house to the entrance. It and the opposite “Jinshi Residence” both belonged to the Liu Rong family. Liu family descendants say that Liu Rong was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) in the Xinchou year of the Xuantong era, holding the official rank of Zhaowu Dudu (a fourth-rank military officer).

The plaques on the gates of the “General’s Mansion” and the “Jinshi Residence” have both been well-preserved. Especially the wooden carving on the “Jinshi Residence” gate, which is said to have survived intact because the residence once housed an anti-Japanese “enemy-slaying hero.” Jia Zhaoquan, deputy secretary of Piancheng Town, recalls that it was the plaque of the “enemy-slaying hero” that shielded the “Jinshi Residence” from destruction. The “General’s Mansion” once served as the Piancheng County Committee, while the first compound at the northern end of “Liumen Gelang” was once the “Public Security Bureau and Detention House.”

Transportation Guide

Location: Piancheng Village, Piancheng Town, She County, Handan City, Hebei Province

Getting There: Take a bus from She County bound for Piancheng Town.