Former Site of Suining Provincial No. 7 Middle School

Former Site of Suining Provincial No. 7 Middle School

The former site of Suining Provincial No. 7 Middle School is a cultural relic protection unit of Suining City.

Former Site of Suining Provincial No. 7 Middle School (formerly known as: Former Site of Provincial No. 7 Middle School)

Era: Republic of China

Category: Important Modern Historical Sites and Representative Buildings

Date of Announcement: August 15, 2012

Address: Nanshilu Community, Fuyuanlu Subdistrict Office, Chuanshan District

Introduction: The former site of Suining Provincial No. 7 Middle School is situated within Suining Normal School at Nanshilu Community, Fuyuanlu Subdistrict Office. Currently, two buildings remain: the Qixiang Building and the Zhongshan Building. The Qixiang Building was completed in 1928. It was constructed under the orders of Li Jia Yu, Commander-in-Chief of the Sichuan Border Defense Forces, who also concurrently served as the principal of Provincial No. 7 Middle School at the time. It's said to have been designed by Liang Sicheng, and served as a campus building for the school. In honor of Li Jia Yu — whose courtesy name was Qixiang — the building was named Qixiang Building. It is a Western-style brick-and-wood auditorium facing south with a north orientation, laid out in a cross shape with three floors and 20 rooms total. It measures 17.5 meters in width, 18.9 meters in depth, and stands 13.5 meters high, covering a land area of 330.7 square meters and a floor space of 485.7 square meters. The stone base is about 0.3 meters high. The structure features a sloped roof covered with small gray tiles. There is a three-step Sumeru pedestal in front of the building. The central front facade has a semi-circular arched doorway, while the lateral brick walls also have single arched doorways and steps; the back wall has two single doors. All four walls are fitted with rectangular arched glass windows. The ground floor houses a large auditorium supported by four thick square pillars, creating a tall, spacious central hall that rises all the way to the roof. The second and third floors are surrounded by inner corridors with wooden railings. The roof is fitted with glass skylights for lighting, and a wooden spiral staircase is located at the rear. The cross-shaped layout, the lofty central hall, and the arched doors and windows are all typical features of ancient Roman architectural style. The Zhongshan Building was initiated in March 1929 and completed in the autumn of 1930. In 1928, Li Jia Yu, Commander-in-Chief of the Sichuan Border Defense Forces, withheld meat tax payments from counties such as Suining and Anyue that were intended for the provincial education department, and used the funds to establish Provincial No. 7 Middle School. He also served as the school’s principal. The Zhongshan Building served as the teaching facility for the school. The building has a “中”-shaped layout, with the front and back resembling a “山” shape — symbolizing “Zhongshan” (Zhongshan being Chinese for Sun Yat-sen), hence the name. It is a brick-and-wood structure, built facing south with a symmetrical left-right design on two floors over one basement level, featuring blue-tiled roofs and wooden rafters, with an upturned eave shaped like a fish back and dragon spine. There are three arched doorways in the center of the main building, and each side has an arched corridor doorway. The front of the main building has a wide corridor with ten pillars and wooden railings. A wooden spiral staircase is located in the center of the ground floor. Multiple large glass windows are set into the front and back walls. The sloped roof is covered with small blue tiles and features eight small decorative elements — four at the front and four at the rear. The structure measures 62.1 meters in width, 14 meters in depth, and 13.3 meters in height, with a land area of 869.4 square meters. The Zhongshan Building is grand in scale and well preserved, blending both Chinese and Western architectural styles. This site serves as a historical testament to the modern educational development of Suining. It holds significant value for research into Suining’s modern architecture, culture, and education, and boasts considerable historic, artistic, and scientific importance.

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