Former Site of Luo’s Silk and Cloth Store

Former Site of Luo’s Silk and Cloth Store

The former site of Luo’s Silk and Cloth Store is a cultural heritage site protected at the provincial level in Fujian Province.

The former site of Luo’s Silk and Cloth Store is located at No. 181 Xiàháng Road.

It is a late Qing Dynasty building facing south, consisting of four connected courtyards that extend directly south from Xiàháng Road to Xīnghé Lane, covering an area of about 1,120 square meters. The first courtyard was the storefront, the second the warehouse, the third the residence, and the fourth the kitchen. A garden lies at the rear, next to Xīng’ān River, allowing goods to be transported by water and directly unloaded into the warehouse.

The exterior features a two-story brick wall, with the upper part of the stone doorway arch added in the early Republic of China period.

Passing through the stone doorway leads into the first courtyard. The side rooms on both sides have been rebuilt into two-story brick-concrete structures. The main structure has five bays in width and five columns in depth, with all original wooden beams still intact, though a suspended ceiling was added later.

After passing the rear courtyard and another stone doorway is the front corridor of the second courtyard, also part of the main structure, featuring front and rear courtyards and side rooms, with the same layout of five bays in width and five columns in depth.

The third courtyard faces the opposite direction from the first two, with three bays in width and seven columns in depth. The materials used here are notably large, and the carvings are exquisite. The front eave uses a single large beam over ten meters long and 500 mm in diameter to support the roof without additional columns—an impressive sight.

Shàngxiàháng was once bustling with trading firms and warehouses. At its peak, over 20 businesses dealing in silk, cloth, and yarn were located on Shàngháng Road, while Xiàháng Road hosted merchants such as Rónghuá, Qíshēng, Jiànxīnlóng, and Liányǒu. Businesses were also found along Lóngpíng Road and Dàmiào Road.

During the Republic of China period, the founder Luo Yiting moved “Luo Hénglóng Silk and Cloth Store” into this building.

In 1936, Luo Yiting sent his second son, Luo Zuyin, who had just turned 14, to a branch store to learn the trade and manage operations, grooming him as the successor.

Before the outbreak of the War of Resistance against Japan, “Luo Hénglóng Silk and Cloth Store” was at its height. In 1943, Luo Yiting passed away in Yangkou Town, Shùnchāng County. In 1945, Luo Zuyin renamed the store “Luo Hénglóng Cloth Shop,” which continued until August 1948, before being renamed again as “Liányǒu Cloth Shop.”

On the eve of the founding of New China and in the early years after liberation, Luo Zuyin was appointed as a committee member of the “Fuzhou Silk and Cloth Trade Preparatory Committee.” In 1952, he attended the “First East China Textile and Cloth Trade Fair” held in Shanghai as the chief representative of the committee, introducing new products to Fuzhou’s cotton cloth industry.

In the 1950s, the Fuzhou Hardware Wholesale Company rented this building as a warehouse.

In January 2013, the former site of Luo’s Silk and Cloth Store was designated as part of the eighth batch of provincial-level cultural heritage sites as part of the “Shàngxiàháng Merchant Buildings Complex.”

Hòuzhōu Subdistrict: Located in Tàiyáng District, Fúzhōu City, Fújiàn Province. Area: 1.02 km². Population: 35,800 (2004). Code: 350103002

After the merger of Hòuzhōu Subdistrict and Shuāngháng Subdistrict in April 2004: Bordered by Wǔyī South Road and the center line of Yíngzhōu River to the east; from Tōngtài Bridge southward along Báimǎ River to Báimǎ Bridge to the west; to the main channel center line of the Min River to the south; and to Nánchán Bridge Road and Nánxiáng Bridge to the north. It governs 13 communities: ~001_Jiāngbīn Community, ~004_Ānpíng Community, ~006_Dájiāng Community, ~011_Dàtóng Community, ~00… More details about Hòuzhōu Subdistrict++