Prince Xu’s Mansion

Prince Xu’s Mansion

Prince Xu’s Mansion is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Prince Xu’s Mansion is located at No. 4 Dongfucang, Putao Lane, Zhongshan Road, Chaozhou City. It was the residence of Xu Jue, the son-in-law of Princess De’an (the great-granddaughter of Emperor Taizong of the Northern Song Dynasty) and an imperial guard. Xu Jue was the great-grandson of Xu Shen, one of the “Eight Sages of Chaozhou” from the Tang and Song dynasties.

The mansion was first built during the Jianning era (1064–1067) of Emperor Yingzong in the Northern Song Dynasty. It faces south with a slight eastward orientation, with a width of 42 meters, a depth of 48 meters, and covers an area of 2,450 square meters. The main structure consists of three courtyards and five bays, with both the front section and rear building featuring inserted halls and rooms, totaling nine bays. The central hall is flanked by wing rooms that include auxiliary rooms, studies, and a rear enclosure spanning the entire residence.

The three courtyards of the main structure and the inserted rooms form a “工” (work) shaped layout. The wing rooms are tucked away beside the gables of the middle courtyard, creating unique features such as standalone halls, courtyards, and skywells. Among the four wells in the mansion, one still provides clear water today. The wooden framework of the mansion largely uses a through-tenon style closely resembling a piercing-style construction, supported by continuous strip-shaped stone foundation beams—known as ground beams. The walls are made from rammed earth slabs and grey bricks laid in mortar, and two walls on the eastern side of the main hall in the rear building still retain their original peach-red bamboo-woven grey plaster. The roof of the mansion has a gentle pitch and deep overhangs, with stone-carved dragon ridge ornaments extending from the mountain peaks at either end of the main ridge, and long-opened “mouths” at the ends of the hip ridges.

The entire architectural complex is rigorously structured and exudes an elegant simplicity, earning praise from experts as “a rare and intact example of traditional residential architecture in China.” In 1996, Prince Xu’s Mansion was listed in the fourth group of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units by the State Council as a historical building from the Ming Dynasty.

Address: No. 4 Dongfucang, Putao Lane, Zhongshan Road, Chaozhou City

Type: Museum / Historic Site

Recommended Visit Duration: About 1 hour

Ticket Information:

Gate Price: 20.0 RMB

Further Reading:

· Fourth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units