Lequn Building

Lequn Building

The Lequn Building is a cultural heritage site protected at the provincial level in Fujian Province.

Located at No. 8 Lequn Road, Maiyuan Road Community, Cangqian Subdistrict, Cangshan District, the Lequn Building was jointly funded by various foreign consulates in the vicinity of Cangqianshan, predominantly by the British. During the War of Resistance against Japan, it was occupied by the Japanese. The Lequn Building was originally constructed in the fourth year of the Xianfeng reign during the Qing Dynasty (1854) and completed in 1859. It is a two-story brick-and-wood structure in the colonial arcade style; the building faces 12 degrees southeast, covers an area of approximately 619.69 square meters, with a width of 19.83 meters, a length of 31.25 meters, and a height of 18 meters. The Lequn Building is the earliest Western-style entertainment building and foreigner’s club in China, and Lequn Road is also named after it. Its English name “Foochow Club” is very well known and frequently appears in English books, records, and correspondence. In 2013, the Lequn Building was designated as a provincial-level cultural heritage site in Fujian as part of the “Yantai Mountain Modern Architectural Complex.”

Originally constructed in the fourth year of the Xianfeng reign during the Qing Dynasty (1854) and completed in 1859.

According to Robert Nield's records, around 1877 the Lequn Building became a dedicated “club” with entertainment functions.

During the two occupations of Fuzhou in 1941 and 1944, the Japanese army took over the Lequn Building and confined women they had captured in the foreign club, subjecting them to —, committing atrocities that were horrifying.

In the 1950s, after the expulsion of foreigners from Fuzhou, the Lequn Building was repurposed as residential housing. The outer corridors were bricked up to serve as rooms, resulting in severe damage to its exterior appearance, though the entrance gatehouse remains recognizable.

In June 2009, the Lequn Building was listed as a first-class outstanding modern building by the Fuzhou urban planning authorities.

In January 2013, the Lequn Building was designated as a provincial-level cultural heritage site as part of the “Yantai Mountain Modern Architectural Complex.”

Cangqian Subdistrict: Located in the central part of Cangshan District, Fuzhou City, Fujian Province, Cangqian Subdistrict borders Puding in Xiadu Subdistrict to the east, faces the Min River to the north and connects with Guanjin Road in Linjiang Subdistrict, links to Longtanjiao in Shangdu Subdistrict to the west, and adjoins Jinxing Village in Cangshan Township on the outskirts to the south. It covers an area of 0.991 square kilometers, with over 12,000 households and a population of nearly 30,000. The subdistrict office is located at Block G, Xinlong Shengshi, No. 3 Juhe Road, and it governs ten neighborhood committees: Longfeng, Meiwu, Maiyuan, Zhenxing, Gongyuan, Wanchun, Laogong, Xingyuan, Limin, and Hangxing.

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Geographic Location

The terrain of Cangqian Subdistrict is high in the middle and low on both sides, with the main... Cangqian Subdistrict detailed information++