Benyuan Hall

Benyuan Hall

Benyuan Hall is a cultural relic protection unit of Nanchang City.

Era: Republican period

Type: Ancient architecture

Address: Guoshangzhong Village, Wuyang Town, Sanjiang Town, Nanchang County

Introduction:

Benyuan Hall is situated in the center of Guoshangzhong Village, Wuyang Town, Nanchang County, and serves as the ancestral hall of the Zhong family in the village. The structure faces south and has a rectangular layout, being longer from north to south and narrower from east to west, with a construction area of 832 square meters. A wall was built 3 meters outside the main southern gate.

The main body of Benyuan Hall is a wooden post-and-lintel and bracket-set construction, consisting of four courtyards. The exterior walls are built with specially made bluish-gray bricks, on which the embossed characters “Benyuan Hall” are clearly visible.

It is said that the earliest ancestral hall of the Zhong family was first built during the Tang Dynasty, while the current structure was rebuilt in the third year of the Republican period (1914) and completed in the sixth year (1917).

In the early years after the liberation, “Benyuan Hall” served as the office of the management district, an outpost of the county government, and was later converted into a primary school. The school moved out in 1989, and the building continues to function as an ancestral hall.

In early 2001, members of the Zhong family collectively donated 400,000 yuan to renovate Benyuan Hall, and the renovation was completed that same year.

All villagers of Guoshangzhong Village bear the surname Zhong. Benyuan Hall is located in the central part of the village. About 1 kilometer to the west of the village is an inter-village cement road, with a brick and tile factory located to the east of the road. Approximately 500 meters to the east of the village is the Nanchang Ring Expressway, and about 1.5 kilometers to the southeast lies the boundary of Jinxian County.

On January 10, 2005, the Nanchang County People’s Government listed it as a Cultural Relic Protection Unit of Nanchang County (Fourth Batch).

On March 26, 2006, the Nanchang Municipal People’s Government listed it as a Cultural Relic Protection Unit of Nanchang City (Third Batch).