Zhaicun Quanshun Courtyard

Zhaicun Quanshun Courtyard

Zhaicun Quanshun Courtyard is a cultural relic protection unit of Shandong Province.

Zhaicun Quanshun Courtyard is located on the south side of the west part of Qian Street in Zhaicun, Le’an Subdistrict Office, Guangrao County. It was first built during the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty and has a history of over a hundred years. The courtyard faces north and is constructed with earthen walls and gray-tiled grey-brick architecture. It is divided into eastern and western sections by the gate tower on North Street. The two-story gate tower has windows and doors and is built with earthen walls and gray-tiled grey bricks. The eastern courtyard was originally a quadrangle with a west-facing gate, featuring five northern rooms, four western rooms, three eastern rooms, and five southern rooms. The eastern, western, and northern rooms are all typical Qing Dynasty structures, while only the five southern rooms feature a front eaves canopy, built with earthen walls and gray-tiled grey bricks, supported by four beams and twelve pillars, topped with gray tubular tiles, and decorated with a screen wall on the eastern gable. The western courtyard is also a quadrangle, featuring a two-story building and several other rooms. The two-story building has a three-room structure, built with earthen walls and gray-tiled grey bricks, with a wooden staircase located at the southwest corner. After more than a hundred years of weathering and human damage, the entire courtyard now only retains one gate tower on North Street, with the eastern courtyard keeping only five northern rooms, two western rooms, and one western gate, and the western courtyard only retaining one three-room structured two-story building—all in severe disrepair. The current gate tower on North Street measures 7.7 meters from north to south and 4.5 meters from east to west, with a total area of 34.65 square meters. The five northern rooms in the eastern courtyard measure 19.8 meters from east to west and 5.15 meters from north to south, with a total area of 101.97 square meters; the two western rooms measure 7.05 meters from north to south and 4.1 meters from east to west, with a total area of 28.91 square meters. The two-story building in the western courtyard measures 13.25 meters from north to south and 4.2 meters from east to west, with a total area of 55.65 square meters. According to historical records, Quanshun Courtyard was the residence of a wealthy family in Zhaicun during the late Qing Dynasty, known by the trade name “Quanshun.” The gate tower on the street was built at the time for security and theft prevention, and the two-story building in the western courtyard was originally the office of Quanshun’s distillery. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Quanshun Courtyard was taken over by the state. During the 1960s–1970s, it was used as a grain depot, and after 1980, it successively served as a credit union and the Zhaicun branch office of the Shicun Town Government. Today, this century-old courtyard still retains distinct architectural features of the Qing Dynasty and strong traditional ethnic architectural style. On August 15, 1990, the Guangrao County People's Government designated it as a third-batch county-level key cultural relic protection unit. In 2015, it was announced as a provincial-level key cultural relic protection unit.

Le’an Subdistrict: Guangrao Economic Development Zone (Le’an Subdistrict Office) is a provincial-level economic development zone approved by the People’s Government of Shandong Province. It governs 77 villages, with a population of about 70,000, and covers a total planned area of 100 square kilometers. It serves as the window and base for Guangrao County to develop an export-oriented economy and achieve all-round opening up. In March 2006, it successfully passed the national development and reform commission’s provincial-level development zone review and acceptance; in December, it was rated as one of the “Top Ten Most Economically Dynamic Parks in Shandong” by the Shandong County Economy Research Association and nine other organizations. In January 2010, it was recognized by the Shandong Urban Economics Society and other entities... More details about Le’an Subdistrict ++

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Shandong Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units