The Rao Family Manor in Danjiangkou

The Rao Family Manor in Danjiangkou

The Rao Family Manor is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Rao Family Manor is located in Shuitianfan Village, Langhe Town, Danjiangkou City. It was built in the sixth year of the Guangxu reign (1880) by Rao Zongyi, a local wealthy family. Facing southeast and situated northwest, the manor covers an area of 2,220 square meters. The layout is symmetrical along a central axis and consists of a hanging flower porch, front hall, middle hall, main house, side rooms, watchtower, garden, and more. The front, middle, and main halls are all three bays wide (12.2 meters) with depths of 5.6, 7.24, and 8.3 meters respectively. All have single-eave hip-and-gable roofs, with the central bay featuring a post-and-lintel structure, and the gable sides supported by brick walls carrying purlins. The front and middle halls have cat-arched gable walls. The courtyard features connecting corridors, mostly fitted with lattice doors. Beams, columns, brackets, doors, and windows are adorned with various carved wooden ornaments. The watchtower is built on a 3.5-meter-high brick platform, with a single-eave pyramidal roof, divided into upper and lower floors. The brick walls extend to the eaves, supported by four corner pillars. It is 5.6 meters wide and 4.2 meters deep. (Third Batch)

On October 7, 2019, the Rao Family Manor was included in the eighth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Source: Hubei Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau

Langhe Town: A town under the jurisdiction of Danjiangkou City. In 1959, Langhe Commune was established; in 1975, it was upgraded to a town; in 1984, it became a (district-level) town; and in 1987, the town status was reinstated. Located in the southern part of the city, it is 43 kilometers from the city center. It covers an area of 189 square kilometers with a population of 27,000. The Xiangyang-Chongqing Railway and the Wuhan-Shiyan Highway run through the area. To the southwest is the Langhe-Yanchihe Highway, and to the north, waterways connect to Danjiang. It administers five neighborhood committees: Langhe, Daijiawan, Qingmo, Zhujia Valley, and Xiaodianzi, as well as villages including Zhao’gang, Baijiagou, Baojiawan, Qingshipu, Xiaodianzi, Tumen’gou, Huangtuchu… More detailed information about Langhe Town++

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of Hubei Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Eighth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units