Fujian Guild Hall (Yantai Folk Museum)

Fujian Guild Hall (Yantai Folk Museum)

Fujian Guild Hall (Yantai Folk Museum) is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Guide

The guild hall is composed of five parts: the mountain gate, Dafu Hall, rear hall, theater stage, and two side wings. The mountain gate is a tall wooden and stone structure, featuring a main gate with three bays, one bay on each side for the secondary gates, plus two side rooms, standing about 10 meters high. The roof is supported by exquisitely carved brackets (dougong) and covered with azure-glazed tiles. To the south of the mountain gate lies the main hall, which is the central building of the Heavenly Queen’s Palace. The center of the main hall houses a statue of the Heavenly Queen Mother.

Highlights

The architectural style boasts strong Southern Fujian characteristics, and its carving art blends Eastern and Western cultures as well as northern and southern styles, making it truly unique. It has been listed as a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

What is particularly breathtaking is that the entire mountain gate and main hall can be described as “no wood without carving, no carving without beauty.” The flower baskets and lotus-seated pearls hanging from the beams under the mountain gate are exquisitely shaped, gilded, and radiant with color.

The Fujian Guild Hall, also known as the Heavenly Queen’s Palace, is located at the intersection of South Avenue and Shengli Road in Zhifu District, Yantai City. All the bricks, tiles, wood, and stones used in the guild hall were carefully selected from the Quanzhou area of Fujian Province, then carved and painted by skilled artisans on-site before being transported to Yantai. Construction began in the 10th year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty (1884), initially serving as a place for merchants to conduct trade and worship the Goddess Mazu. A prominent feature of the Fujian Guild Hall is its extremely ornate carvings, making it virtually an exhibition hall of carving artworks.

Location

No. 257, South Avenue, Zhifu District, Yantai City, Shandong Province

Transportation

Accessible by taking bus routes 1, 2, 3, or 5.

Admission

Free admission, guided tour fee is 20 RMB.

Further Reading:

· Fourth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units