The Ancient Qing Dynasty Architectural Complex in Pang Village

The Ancient Qing Dynasty Architectural Complex in Pang Village

The Ancient Qing Dynasty Architectural Complex in Pang Village is a cultural tourism attraction.

The Ancient Qing Dynasty Architectural Complex in Pang Village

I had long heard about a cluster of Qing Dynasty residences in Xingye County. Though it was just a stone’s throw away, I never found the time to visit. Even when I did have a little free time, I always thought that without a guide who understood the history of these homes and possessed some knowledge of architectural art, the tour would be dull or I’d miss out on many beautiful details, so I never ended up going.

Recently, while in Xingye County to write an article commemorating the 55th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, I had the opportunity to visit this residential complex with staff from the county’s cultural relics management office, finally fulfilling a long-held wish.

The Qing Dynasty residential complex in Pang Village is located in the natural village of Pang, east of Xingye County town, about 1 kilometer from the county seat. It was first built in the 41st year of the Qianlong reign during the Qing Dynasty (1776), underwent large-scale expansion during the Jia period, and took its final form by the late Qing Dynasty, having stood for over two hundred years. The complex consists of 34 buildings, covering a total area of 25,000 square meters. The buildings share a unified orientation, feature a rigorous layout, are neatly arranged, and are adorned with luxurious decorations including murals, stone carvings, wood carvings, and clay sculptures. These decorations are rich in content, vividly colored, and strikingly lifelike.

Led by village cadres from Pang Village, we focused our visit on the well-preserved highlights of the complex, including the General’s Mansion, Seven Towers, and the Liang Family Ancestral Hall. We also climbed to the rooftop of Pang Village Primary School to look down upon the entire ancient residential complex. From above, we saw red-tiled roofs with upturned eaves, densely packed and grand in scale, forming a preliminary impression of this ancient architectural gem.

Though our visit was brief and we couldn’t examine everything in detail, we felt that the Qing Dynasty residential complex in Pang Village possesses unique qualities in architectural design, sculptural artistry, and decorative style, making it highly valuable for appreciation and architectural study. The architecture follows certain unified principles: all structures face southeast (a compass orientation known as 壬丙兼亥巳); they are predominantly built in a flush-gable timber-frame structure, with one main floor and one raised level, featuring upturned eaves, double roofs, hip-and-gable roofs, beam eaves with supports, and intricately carved through-beam designs. Walls are faced with brick and lined with mud bricks for better insulation; each building has a screen wall. The architectural styles are distinctive. The complex includes a variety of forms, combining symmetrical and asymmetrical layouts, ranging from single-unit three-bay or four-bay designs to larger three-section, four- or even seven-bay arrangements. The largest single building covers an area of up to 1,5000 square meters. Within individual building groups, interior doors connect to one another, adjacent buildings share connected walls, and narrow lanes—about two meters wide and crisscrossing—link the spaces. Doorsteps are paved with bluestone slabs, and both floors and lanes are paved with blue bricks. Walking through the long, quiet alleys, one feels as if stepping into an ancient painting. The decorations are exquisitely appropriate. Beneath the eaves and roofs of most residences are colorful “skirt paintings” depicting floral motifs, trees, and auspicious animals such as mandarin ducks, cranes, and deer. The brushwork is delicate and smooth, the colors remain vibrant despite the passage of more than two hundred years. Eaves and window headers feature exquisite carvings of dragons, phoenixes, magpies, ruyi symbols, and the Eight Treasures, all crafted with fine detail and lifelike precision. On the brick walls on either side of the courtyards in the General’s Mansion and the Liang Family Ancestral Hall, there are three-dimensional grey-relief sculptures of woods and auspicious beasts, painted in color, exquisitely made and vividly shaped. The roofing of these two buildings features two layers: the upper layer is for rain protection, while the lower layer consists of white-painted “ornamental tiles.” Such decoration is extremely rare among Qing Dynasty residential complexes.

The Liang Family Ancestral Hall has three sections, each with layered skirt paintings and three-dimensional reliefs that are strikingly lifelike. The upper shrine is intricately carved with floral patterns, gilded with antique designs, and radiates a delicate, shimmering brilliance. The middle section features four large pillars resting on white marble pedestals, each pillar standing 4 meters tall and about 40 centimeters in diameter, creating an imposing atmosphere. Peeling layers of plaster reveal that these pillars were actually constructed from bricks, each meticulously shaped into an arc—an exceptional feature. The General’s Mansion is located at the northwest end of the residential complex. It was built by Liang Jichang, the seventh son of Liang Biaowen, the founder of the complex. It earned its name because Liang Jichang’s second son, Liang Yuxin, was promoted to the rank of Martial General due to his military achievements. The mansion faces south, has seven bays, three sections, and two courtyards, and was designed in an official-style hip-and-gable roof structure. The interior is elaborately carved and painted, resplendent with golden embellishments and luxurious decorations. The most distinctive feature of this mansion is the hidden rooms in each chamber, interconnected via secret passageways. Door bolts are concealed with stoppers, making them impossible to open without knowing the mechanism—a testament to the ingenious design. Exploring this ancient residential complex is truly captivating and awe-inspiring, immersing you completely in its rich historical ambiance.

According to the genealogy of the Liang family of Pang Village, the founder of the Qing Dynasty residential complex, Liang Biaowen (courtesy name Chun’an), originally came from Fengshan Village in Shinan (about 5 kilometers southeast of Pang Village). Orphaned at a young age, he lived with his grandmother and later moved to Xingye County town to work. He assisted a Guangdong merchant in managing indigo trade. Due to his loyalty, honesty, and sharp acumen, he earned the trust of his employer. Later, with financial support from the Guangdong merchant, he started his own indigo dye business and opened the door to wealth. He then expanded into real estate, becoming the wealthiest man in Xingye County at the time. Liang had seven sons and nine daughters, and the current buildings in the complex were constructed by his descendants.

Today, few people live in the ancient houses of Pang Village. The descendants of Liang Biaowen have inherited and carried forward their ancestors’ spirit of hard work and determination. With the help of the government’s poverty-alleviation policies, they have prospered through scientific farming, transportation, and commerce. Many have built new houses outside the village or in the county town and have moved out of the ancient buildings, leaving the entire Qing Dynasty residential complex surrounded by modern brick-concrete structures. Some ancient houses, left unoccupied and unmaintained for years, have become dilapidated. However, it is reassuring that the Xingye County government has listed these historic buildings under protection and is promoting them as part of a tourism investment project. Hopefully, the investment will materialize soon, transforming the Qing Dynasty residential complex in Pang Village into a new tourist destination, allowing these ancient homes to shine once again.