Ancient Building Complex of Bailu Village

Ancient Building Complex of Bailu Village

The Ancient Building Complex of Bailu Village is a cultural heritage site protected at the provincial level in Jiangxi Province.

Ancient Building Complex of Bailu Village (including Huilie Ancestral Hall (with surrounding walls and six flagstone sets), Lady Wang’s Ancestral Hall, Xingfu Hall (with surrounding walls), Peiyu Hall (with surrounding walls), Fushen Temple (with surrounding walls), Shuzhen Hall (with surrounding walls), Lanshan Hall, Gongxiang Hall (with surrounding walls and gate tower), Shusheng Hall, Dingfu Hall)

Bailu Village is situated at the northernmost tip of Ganzhou County, Jiangxi Province, bordering Xingguo County and Wan’an County, hence the saying “one foot in three counties.” The village got its name in the sixth year of the Shaoxing era during the Song Dynasty (1136 AD). Bailu is the best-preserved and most concentrated ancient Hakka settlement in southern China, retaining a large number of intact Ming and Qing dynasty buildings as well as a rich Hakka culture from southern Jiangxi. Despite more than 860 years of weathering, it still preserves 69 ancestral halls and main halls of varying sizes. [1-3] In 2006, it was listed among “China’s Top Ten Ancient Villages.”

To date, Bailu Village is the most well-preserved and concentrated ancient Hakka village in Jiangxi. Despite enduring over 860 years of natural wear, it still retains 69 ancestral halls and main halls of various sizes. On September 18, 2006, at the closing ceremony of the “China Chenzhou Eco (Folk & Residential) Tourism Festival” held in Guiyang, Hunan, the uniquely distinctive China’s Top Ten Ancient Villages were unveiled, and Ganzhou’s Bailu Village was honored as one of them.

Its long history has given Bailu Village quite a few “firsts” and “uniques”: China’s first and only ancestral hall named after a woman, China’s first Hope Primary School, Jiangxi’s first village-level folk museum, and the only surviving imperial golden brick outside the Forbidden City...

The Ancient Building Complex of Bailu Village is distributed in a crescent shape along the Luxi River, and the village’s four main streets strikingly resemble a large Chinese character “丰” (meaning abundance). The villagers of Bailu have long evaluated the major scenic spots associated with numbers in the village and summarized them as the “Ten Scenic Spots of Bailu”: Tianyi Pond, Er Yi Granary, Sanyuan Temple, Si Yi Hall, Wu Fu Mansion, Liujiao Pavilion, Qigu Temple, Bajiao Well, Jiucheng Hall, and Shizijie Street. Although many of these ten street-side sights no longer exist today, the memories of these beautiful scenes remain vivid in the hearts of the village elders.

The Ancient Building Complex of Bailu Village mainly consists of ancestral halls, which are divided into two types: “exclusive worship type” and “residential-worship type.” Architecturally, most feature exquisitely carved gate towers and solid structures built around a central, protruding courtyard, forming a “four waters returning to the hall” layout. The walls of the ancestral halls are tall and straight, with each exterior brick undergoing a grinding process. In an era without cement, people used glutinous rice and water as a substitute. Even after nearly a thousand years, the walls remain as solid as ever.

Southern Jiangxi is the first stop of the Hakka people's southward migration and is widely recognized as the cradle of Hakka culture. The Hakka residential complex in Bailu Village, located in the northern part of Ganzhou County, is known as a “living museum for the study of ancient Ming and Qing architecture.” The village is predominantly inhabited by the Zhong family, a Hakka ethnic enclave that has preserved many Hakka customs and traditions.

The Ancient Building Complex of Bailu Village was formed as early as the Southern Song Dynasty. Covering an area of approximately 60,000 square meters, the entire village shares the Zhong surname. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, it produced 568 scholars, 17 civil and military examinees, and 6 prefectural and county magistrates. The 69 well-preserved ancestral halls and temples feature uniquely styled and vividly crafted gate towers; hundreds of flagstone sets engraved with descendants’ academic and official honors can be found throughout, along with numerous inscribed plaques and couplets gifted by notable figures.

Bailu Village: Located in the northern part of Bailu Township, Ganzhou County, Jiangxi Province, Bailu Village is 63 kilometers from Ganzhou City. The village dates back to the Shang and Zhou dynasties when it first became a residential settlement, later flourishing over time. Currently, Bailu Village has nearly 600 households and a population of 2,500. The village is shaped like a crescent moon, covering an area of 0.2 square kilometers. Within its 60,000 square meters of ancient buildings, there are over 140 Hakka residences that are more than a hundred years old. The classic black-tiled, gray-brick complexes were mostly built during the Ming and Qing dynasties.

The origin of the name “Bailu” is rather poetic. The June 1986 edition of the “Ganzhou County Place Names Gazetteer of Jiangxi Province” records: In the sixth year of the Shaoxing era of the Song Dynasty... More details about Bailu Village ++

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Jiangxi Provincial Cultural Heritage Protection Units