Dacitou Ancient Village

Dacitou Ancient Village

Dacitou Ancient Village is a Guangdong Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Dacitou Village is located in Leping Town, Sanshui District, Foshan City. Leping Town lies in the eastern part of Sanshui, where both the Foshan First Ring Road and the Pearl River Second Ring Road have exits. This makes Dacitou Village highly accessible to downtown Sanshui as well as nearby cities in the Pearl River Delta such as Guangzhou.

Dacitou Village is a representative Qing Dynasty village in central Guangdong. It is an ancient residential complex built in a unified style during the Guangxu period by Zheng Shaozhong, a naval commander of Guangdong in the Qing Dynasty. In 2002, the residential complex was designated as a provincial-level cultural relics protection unit. In November 2003, due to its high historical and cultural value, the ancient architectural complex of Dacitou Village was jointly announced by the Ministry of Construction and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage as one of the first 12 national historic and cultural villages.

The Dacitou Village ancient architectural complex faces east and is backed by ponds, featuring a scientifically sound overall layout that is open in front and enclosed at the back. It serves as an important case study for disciplines such as architecture, ethnology, and history in researching China’s ancient agricultural settlement culture and the cultural geography of Guangdong. The site holds high cultural heritage value. Covering a total area of 52,000 square meters, the ancient architectural complex spans approximately 14,000 square meters, forming a cohesive system within the village. It includes a full range of features such as residences, ancestral halls, family temples, mansions, pagodas, drying yards, plazas, and ponds. The community lives together as clans, with coordinated layout and unified style. The buildings all feature flush gable roofs with gable-ridge walls, and their internal layouts follow the typical "three rooms and two corridors" pattern of Guangdong residences. From a distance, the high, solemn, and uniform walls create a striking impression. The complex follows a comb-like layout that is dense, orderly, and crisscrossed with lanes, with the planning taking full account of functions such as lighting, heat insulation, drainage, defense, transportation, and human factors.

The Dacitou Village ancient architectural complex includes five ancestral halls and family temples, which share similar designs: Yulizheng Ancestral Hall, Zheng Clan Ancestral Hall, Zhenwei General Temple, Shangshu Mansion, and Jianwei Mansion. The residence of Zheng Shaozhong is grand and imposing, and after restoration, it is expected to become a highly attractive highlight for visitors. In addition, the folklore and traditional culture of Dacitou Village hold significant potential for research, development, and utilization.

The Dacitou Village ancient architectural complex serves as an important case study in architecture, ethnology, and history for researching China’s ancient agricultural settlement culture and the cultural geography of Guangdong. It has high cultural relic value. In 2002, it was designated as a fourth batch provincial cultural relics protection unit by the Guangdong Provincial Government. In 2003, it was jointly listed by the Ministry of Construction and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage as one of the first 12 national historic and cultural villages. In 2004, it was recognized as “Guangdong’s No.1 Village” by the Guangdong Provincial Department of Culture.

On July 17, 2002, the Dacitou Village ancient architectural complex was included in the fourth batch of Guangdong Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units.

The Zheng Clan Ancestral Hall covers a land area of 542 square meters and a construction area of 439 square meters. It is a three-bay, three-courtyard building complex. The ancestral hall is primarily used for ancestor worship, holding weddings, funerals, birthday celebrations, and discussions on important village matters.

Shangshu Mansion served as the private residence of Zheng Shaozhong. It is a three-bay, concave-style building representing the architectural style of the late Qing Dynasty, covering a land area of 342 square meters. Only the front section remains, while the rear part has been destroyed. The front section now serves as a military exhibition hall, and during the Civil War, it was also used as the village canteen. The design of Shangshu Mansion emphasizes strong defensibility, with shooting holes on both sides of the gate and a corner watchtower in the northeast, which had a mezzanine level and stairs for enhanced security.

Yulizheng Zheng Ancestral Hall covers a land area of 258 square meters and a construction area of 250 square meters. It is a three-bay, two-courtyard building with a side courtyard on the north side. As the ancestral temple of Zheng Shaozhong’s lineage, its layout differs from other ancestral halls. It expands horizontally based on the basic unit of "three rooms and two corridors." An additional bay was added next to the original quadrangle structure, including a gatehouse, a light well, and a main hall. The expanded part was used for auxiliary functions related to ancestral hall activities, maintaining the open and airy “hall-well” spatial quality.

Zhenwei General Family Temple. Zhenwei General was the hereditary title of Zheng Shaozhong’s great-grandfather. The family temple is a quadrangle structure, covering a land area of 293 square meters and a construction area of 264 square meters. It is a three-bay, two-courtyard ancestral hall with a flush gable roof, gable-ridge walls, eaves corridors, a cross-shaped front courtyard, a main hall, and side corridors. The gate, main hall, and corridors all feature open and airy “hall-well” spaces. The eaves corridors at the entrance and the beams inside the main hall are decorated with wood carvings.

Jianwei Mansion. This is the residence of Zheng Shaozhong, a late Qing Dynasty building covering a land area of 876 square meters and a construction area of 724 square meters. The main building is grand and spacious, with three visible bays and five hidden ones. The brackets at the gate feature simple designs. Originally, there was a garden, Tongde Gate, and sedan-chair hall, none of which remain today.

In front of the village lies a fish pond, beside which stands an ancient brush-shaped pagoda — the Wen Tower. Beneath the tower lie two stone slabs: a larger one about three feet tall shaped like an inkstone, and a smaller square one resembling a seal, together forming a distinct cultural landscape representing the “Four Treasures of the Study,” expressing hopes for descendants to “study and become officials.”

Address: Leping Town, Sanshui District, Foshan City

Type: Historic Sites / Ancient Towns / Ancient Villages

Recommended Visiting Time: 3–4 hours

Opening Hours: Open all day

Ticket Information: Door Price: 10.0 RMB

Transportation

Take bus routes 613, 638, 640, 663, Guangfo Intercity Bus Line 17, or Guangfo Intercity Bus Line 17 Nanshan Shuttle to Dacitou Village Station.

Leping Town: Located at the northern end of Foshan City, in the central part of Sanshui District, Leping Town covers an area of 198.5 square kilometers with a population of about 75,000. It has a subtropical monsoon climate with an average annual temperature of 21.6°C, mild weather, and spring-like conditions all year round. Adjacent to Nanhai and Huadu, and bordering Guangzhou, Leping Town enjoys a prime location within the economic radiation zone of a major metropolis. It is one of Guangdong Province's key developing central towns, benefiting from multiple preferential policies for accelerating small town development. With beautiful natural surroundings, abundant land resources, a developed transport network, and complete infrastructure, the town also boasts advanced postal and telecommunications services… More detailed information about Leping Town++

Further Reading:

· Fourth Batch of Guangdong Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units