Xie Family Ancestral Hall in Jibi Lane

Xie Family Ancestral Hall in Jibi Lane

Xie Family Ancestral Hall in Jibi Lane is a cultural heritage site protected by the Fujian Provincial Government.

Xie Family Ancestral Hall in Jibi Lane is located on the southeastern side of the Three Lanes and Seven Alleys, bordered by Antai River to the south, Bayiqi Road to the east, and situated in the middle section of Jibi Road. Its central axis faces south, and the building was initially constructed during the Ming Dynasty. By the late Qing Dynasty, it served as the ancestral hall of the Xie family.

Entering through the stone-framed gate along the street leads into the entrance room, which is three bays wide and one bay deep, with a bluestone-framed doorway on the north side of the central bay leading into the first section. The front courtyard of the first section is surrounded by corridors on three sides, with the main structure being three bays wide and seven columns deep, featuring a post-and-lintel construction style, a flush gable roof, and no rolled awning decoration on the veranda ceiling—indicating a relatively simple yet distinctive Ming Dynasty structure. Brackets beneath the rafters support square dou elements. The rear courtyard has wing rooms on both sides, with a stone-framed doorway in the center leading into the second section. The structures of the second and third sections are similar to the first. The reverse-facing room is three bays wide and one bay deep, with the back adjacent to buildings in Taxiang Lane.

The building faces south and covers an area of 1,025 square meters. It consists of four sections from front to back. The front section is a shallow-faced hall, with the main structure accessed through a grand bluestone-framed gate. The gate frame is exquisitely crafted, adorned with a pair of bluestone door rings above the lintel—a design typical of the Ming Dynasty and rare throughout the city. The main structure uses large materials, features corridors on three sides, and a central courtyard paved entirely with strip stones. The wall eaves are decorated with gray plaster reliefs such as “The Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea” and “Two Lions Playing with a Ball.” The flower hall is small and exquisite, historically used as a study. The back wall is adjacent to Gongxiang Lane.

Two “Martial Champion” plaques were also discovered inside the ancestral hall.

According to descendants of the Xie family, the central hall of the first section of the Xie Family Ancestral Hall enshrined the revered Xie An, while the rear hall enshrined Xie Lingyun. The original couplet read: “For the fair maiden, a lingering dream of grass and emotion; for the gentleman, a tireless journey without ease.”

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it functioned as the Xie family ancestral hall. In the late Qing Dynasty, Lin Juemin established a reading room here.

During the Republican era, it served as the headquarters of the Fujian Student Federation, the Kuomintang’s Minhou County Party Department, and the office of the Minhou Daily. Huang Zhanyun also used this location as the urban office for the “Model Village of Yingqian.”

In 2005, it was designated as a cultural heritage site protected by the Fujian Provincial Government and is now the Fujian Zhuangyuan Mansion Art Museum.

Nanjie Subdistrict: Nanjie Subdistrict is located in the central-western part of Gulou District. It is bordered by Bayiqi North Road to the east, adjacent to Dongjie Subdistrict; by the foot of Wushi Mountain to the south, neighboring Antai Subdistrict; by Xiaoliu and Henan New Village to the west, connecting with Hongshan Town; and by Hujie Road, Xiannan Road, and Yangqiao Road to the north, abutting Huada Subdistrict and Guxi Subdistrict. It covers an area of 1.56 square kilometers, with 16,000 households and a population of approximately 50,000. The subdistrict office is located at No. 28 Huangxiang. In 2000, there were 338 collective enterprises and 1,147 individual businesses within its jurisdiction. It includes the neighborhoods of Wenru, Nanjie, Taxiang, Nanhou, Anmin, Mingshan, Yi... More detailed information about Nanjie Subdistrict ++