Guxiang Ancient Town in Chao'an

Guxiang Ancient Town in Chao'an

Guxiang Ancient Town in Chao'an is a cultural heritage site protected by Chaozhou City.

Xiangpu Village, located in Guyi Village, Guxiang Town, faces east-northeast at a 30° angle. Xiangpu Village is 162.4 meters wide and 154.4 meters deep, with a square layout. The architectural design is standardized and rigorous, giving rise to the saying “three streets, six lanes, and seventy-two residences, each with a unique yet similar layout.” The entire village has one main entrance, with individual passageways connecting to the very back “Chen Clan Ancestral Hall.” The passageway is about 110 meters long and 5.9 meters wide, with three parallel lanes on either side, each 140 meters long and 2.3 meters wide. From the village gate to behind the ancestral hall, there are three horizontal streets that run across the entire village. The first street is 157 meters long and 2.7 meters wide. The second street is 157 meters long and 3.7 meters wide. The third street is 157 meters long and 1.5 meters wide. These three streets and six lanes form an interconnected network of pathways throughout the village. The village gate is built as a stone arch structure, 2.45 meters high and 1.5 meters wide, with a plaque reading “Xiangpu Village” and inscriptions: the upper inscription reads “Autumn of the Renxu Year,” and the lower one “Erected by the Yingchuan Clan.”

Xiangpu Village is grand in scale and well laid out. It still preserves buildings from the Song, Ming, and Qing dynasties. Among them, the “Chen Clan Ancestral Hall” features architectural elements from the Song Dynasty, such as wooden lintel flower ornaments and large, stout, undecorated papaya-shaped columns. The seventy-two buildings in the village come in various forms, including single-courtyard, double-courtyard, and triple-courtyard layouts, with varying designs of lintel ornaments. It is said that there was originally one well at each of the four corners of the village, and each residence also had its own well, totaling seventy-six wells in the entire village. A watchtower was built behind the village, corresponding in position to the village gate.

Guxiang Town: Located in the hilly and semi-mountainous areas of the western Han River region, Guxiang Town covers a total area of 62 square kilometers with a complex terrain. The northeast and northwest are higher in elevation, while the southwest is lower, surrounded by mountains on three sides. The northeast and northwest are mountainous regions, the central part consists of hilly areas, and the south is a plain. The main peaks are distributed in the northeast and northwest, characterized by high ridges and deep valleys with significant undulations. The mountain ranges are divided into eastern and western branches, each with dozens of peaks of varying sizes and heights. The highest point in the area is Maoding Peak in the north, with an elevation of 324.5 meters, marking the boundary between Guxiang and Dengtang as well as Tiandong. The southern part is a plain area, with the terrain extending from the northeast... More detailed information about Guxiang Town++