The Li Family's Qing Dynasty Courtyard Complex in Shuitang

The Li Family's Qing Dynasty Courtyard Complex in Shuitang

Shuitang in Pan County is a market town composed of four villages: Qiansuo, Shangwutun, Zhongwutun, and Xiawutun. It currently serves as the seat of the Shuitang Town Government Office. It lies 15 kilometers north of the old county seat Chengguan Town and 35 kilometers west of the new county seat Hongguo Town. Shuitang has a long history. During the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty, it was a military garrison area and served as the hundred-household post of Puan Wei, known as “Qiansuo.” From the mid-Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty, it functioned as the administrative center of a lower-level jurisdiction under the Ming Dynasty’s Puan Zhou and the Qing Dynasty’s Puan Direct-Controlled Prefecture, historically referred to as “Nanli.” The main residents here are descendants of migrants from Jiangsu, Anhui, and Hubei during the Ming Dynasty, and ancient cultures of Jiangsu and Anhui—especially architectural culture—dominate the local historical and cultural landscape. A large number of Ming and Qing residential buildings, along with a small number of religious structures, remain to this day. These structures exhibit the refined, delicate, and graceful—but not overly dainty—architectural characteristics of the Jiangnan region in terms of scale, roof styles and ridge ornaments, beam and column craftsmanship, window and door designs, and carved decorative patterns. Among these buildings, the Li Family Courtyard complex and the Li Family Ancestral Hall are relatively well-preserved and are the most representative. They serve as physical evidence for the study of Qing Dynasty Suzhou-style and Huizhou-style architectural culture.