Fuzhou Guangdong Guild Hall

Fuzhou Guangdong Guild Hall

The Fuzhou Guangdong Guild Hall is a cultural heritage site protected by Fuzhou City.

The Guangdong Guild Hall is located at No. 52 Liuyi South Road, Cangshan District, within the campus of Cangshan No. 2 Central Primary School. It was established during the Qing Dynasty by Cantonese merchants residing in Fuzhou as a guild hall with a hometown association function.

Facing south and covering an area of approximately 1,245 square meters, the hall consists of two courtyards: a front hall, a courtyard, a rear hall (assembly hall), and corridor rooms. The front hall has a post-and-lintel wooden frame, a double-sloped roof, spans three bays in width and five bays in depth. The central courtyard covers about 270 square meters and contains a banyan tree with a trunk diameter of 2 square meters and a height of 7 meters, estimated to be around 150 years old. On either side of the assembly hall stand hardwood pillars with diameters of 1.46 meters and heights of 7 meters—rare examples of well-preserved southern Chinese architectural style in such a large guild hall. Behind the hall stands a century-old kapok tree, known as the finest in Fuzhou.

On April 20, 1912, Sun Yat-sen was warmly hosted by the Fuzhou Cantonese Hometown Association at the “Guangdong Guild Hall.” After lunch, he delivered a speech in the assembly hall and inscribed a plaque with the four characters “戮力同心” (Unite with One Heart and One Mind). He also accepted the association’s invitation to stay at the guild hall. The “Unite with One Heart and One Mind” plaque was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution.

Originally built in the sixth year of the Tongzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1867), it was later advocated for reconstruction in the second year of the Guangxu reign (1876) by 96 members of the chamber of commerce, including Yang Zhonggan, Kuang Zhenhuan, and Ling Xingguang, with donations totaling 3,000 silver dollars from over 70 individuals and businesses such as Zhao Yunguan, Wu Yuheng, Tongmao Hengzhan, Futaizhan, and Wantai Zhan.

Renovated in the late 1930s.

After 1949, the Guangdong Guild Hall was occupied by Linjiang Central Primary School. The rear hall was enclosed with iron railings and used as a gymnasium for table tennis classes, while the original stage was converted into a playground.

Designated as a district-level cultural heritage site in 1989.

In 2008, due to long-term neglect, the roof of the corridor rooms collapsed and was subsequently restored.

It is still currently in use by Cangshan No. 2 Central Primary School.