Wumei Ancient Village

Wumei Ancient Village

Wumei Village is located at the junction of Jieyang, Shantou, and Chaozhou, nestled against the southern foothills of Zoutang Mountain in the middle section of Sangpu Mountain to the north, bordering the Rong River to the south, and adjacent to Fudao, Xinliao, and Tuoxi villages of Shantou to the east. National Highway 206 runs past the front of the village, making both land and water transportation highly developed.

Inside the Baimen area of Wumei Village in Didu Town, Jiedong County, there stands a stone memorial archway that has withstood over 400 years of wind and rain and remains well-preserved to this day. According to the Zheng family genealogy, this stone archway was built in the second year of the Longqing era of the Ming Dynasty (1568 AD) by Zheng Bo, the eleventh-generation ancestor of the Zoutang Zheng family, who returned home on leave from his official post to construct the ancestral hall. In August 30, 1994, the stone archway was listed as one of the first cultural heritage protection sites in Jiedong County.

The most famous feature of Wumei Village is its cluster of ancestral halls, including the "Meifeng Ancestral Hall," "Qianyue Ancestral Hall," "Tanzhai Ancestral Hall," "Nanzhuang Clan Ancestral Hall," and more. Most were built during the Ming and Qing dynasties, with some even dating back to the Republican era. They are predominantly constructed in the Chaoshan architectural style using shell-lime, sand, and timber, and feature the classic “Four-Point Gold” residential layout unique to the region. Although these ancestral halls may now appear worn and dilapidated, their former grandeur can still be glimpsed.

The heart of Wumei Village is the renowned "Zheng Clan Ancestral Hall" and the ancient memorial archway known as "Ke Di Shi Jia" (Family of Scholarly Eminence). The Zheng Clan Ancestral Hall was built by Zheng Min, the eleventh-generation ancestor of the Zheng family who passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi (advanced scholar) during the Ming Dynasty's Jiajing era. The hall is situated on a hillside, with a three-bay width and two-courtyard depth. Just west of the steps in front of the entrance stands a four-pillared, three-gate towering stone archway — the "Ke Di Shi Jia" Archway.

The archway was erected in the 44th year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1705 AD) after Zheng Qichong, the fifth-generation descendant of Zheng Min, passed the imperial examination and was appointed as an Inner Cabinet Secretary. Upon his triumphant return to his hometown to renovate the ancestral hall, he commissioned the archway. The entire structure stands approximately 5 meters tall and 7 meters wide.

From Zheng Min’s achievement of passing the imperial examination in 1556 to his fifth-generation descendant Zheng Qichong’s success in the examinations, four out of five generations of this family produced successful candidates — truly a lineage of scholars, worthy of the honor represented by the "Ke Di Shi Jia" Archway. It is also the only archway in eastern Guangdong, and even the entire southern Guangdong region, that celebrates scholarly success through the theme of imperial examinations.

A several-hundred-year-old Zheng Clan Ancestral Hall narrates the glorious history of the Zheng clan in this village. The "Ke Di Shi Jia" Archway further showcases the pride of this lineage. Together, they bear witness to the passage of time and the enduring legacy and splendor of the Zheng family. It has become a landmark of Wumei Village and a cultural symbol of Zoutang, serving as a sacred site that inspires the people of Zoutang to value literature and scholarship.

Didu Town: Located at the junction of Shantou, Chaozhou, and Jieyang, Didu Town is bordered by Sangpu Mountain to the north and the Rong River to the south. The town covers a total area of 101 square kilometers, with a population of 97,864, and administers 23 administrative villages and one neighborhood committee. In 2005, the town’s total industrial output value reached 1.048 billion yuan, and agricultural output value amounted to 277.07 million yuan.

Strong momentum in industrial and economic development:

　 Didu Town implements the Scientific Outlook on Development, leverages its latent advantages, and is fully committed to building the “Two Lines” (along the national highway and Rong River), the “Two Points” (Jindu Town area and Didu Industrial Zone), and the “Two Brands” (building materials, Didu… More detailed information about Didu Town++