Fuzhou Yulong Wanshou Palace

Fuzhou Yulong Wanshou Palace

Fuzhou Yulong Wanshou Palace is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Yulong Wanshou Palace was built during the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty, funded by merchants from the six counties under Fuzhou Prefecture (Linchuan, Jinxian, Dongxiang, Chongren, Yihuang, and Le’an). The guild hall features a brick-and-wood structure divided into front, middle, and rear sections. The front section includes a theater stage, and the rear section houses a two-story and three-story building respectively, while the middle section is the main hall. The main hall is divided into left, center, and right parts. Upon entering through the main gate, the left side is the Fire God Temple, and the right side is the Wenxing Nunnery—places where people pray for peace and the flourishing of talent. The guild hall faces east and is situated to the west, measuring 80 meters in length and 54 meters in width, covering an area of 4,320 square meters. It boasts a classic, elegant, majestic, and spectacular appearance.

The name “Yulong” was bestowed by Emperor Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty in honor of Xu Xun, a renowned water conservancy expert and Taoist master of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. It was later renamed Yulong Wanshou Palace. Since then, multiple Wanshou Palaces or Xu Jingyang Temples have been built across Jiangxi and other parts of China to enshrine Xu Xun, and this palace in Fuzhou falls within that tradition.

Fuzhou Yulong Wanshou Palace is oriented 30 degrees southwest, likely positioned in relation to the flow direction of the Fu River. The earliest construction of this palace dates back to the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty, initially named Wenxing Nunnery, which was a subordinate temple of Zhengjue Temple. It was later destroyed and rebuilt on the original site during the Jiaqing reign of the Qing Dynasty. In the 16th year of the Jiaqing reign (1811), the Xu Jingyang Temple (currently the location of the central hall) was constructed south of Wenxing Nunnery. In the 22nd year of Jiaqing (1817), a Fire God Temple was built south of the Jingyang Temple. In the 8th year of the Guangxu reign (1882), merchants from the six counties of Fuzhou pooled funds to renovate the buildings and integrated them into one complex. In the 12th year of Guangxu (1886), additional structures such as the gate pavilion, front hall, theater stage, and side wings were added, and the site was named “Yulong Biejing.” It was later used as a guild hall. After the liberation, the Fuzhou Guild Hall was successively used by the Fuzhou Farmers' Daily, the Municipal Federation of Industry and Commerce, Qiaodong Commune, and Linchuan Construction Company.

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units