Jindai Street

Jindai Street

Jindai Street is located on the west bank of the Dongjiang River and was built in the 22nd year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty (1389). Before the Ming Dynasty, it was a residential area outside Huizhou City. The current street is 300 meters long and 4 meters wide, with its eastern end connecting to the eastern city wall via Shuimen Road and its western end linked to the western city wall of West Lake. It looks like a belt, hence the name Jindai Street. Another legend says a golden belt was once buried in the street, which is why it is named as such. It is one of the “Nine Streets and Eighteen Lanes” of Huizhou. A third story claims it was built with a golden rhinoceros belt bestowed by the emperor and donated by Su Shi.

Huang Family Ancestral Residence on Jindai Street

Huang Family Ancestral Residence on Jindai Street

Jindai Street is a well-known ancient street in Huicheng District, built during the Ming Dynasty. The Huang Family Ancestral Residence at No. 54 was built around the same time as the ancient street and is the most famous gateway on Jindai Street. The residence features a traditional two-courtyard structure, and there is a Ming Dynasty well in the courtyard. It is quite rare to find such a well preserved so well in an ancient dwelling. The well’s railing is carved from red sandstone and, despite centuries of wear, remains crack-free. Nearby residents say the well has water year-round and the water quality is excellent, clear to the bottom.

Arriving at Dingdong Lane in the middle section of Jindai Street, this lane is only about 1 meter wide, with high walls dozens of meters tall on both sides. Two people must sidestep to pass each other, and walking here produces a ding-dong echo, especially when wearing wooden clogs or hard-soled shoes, making the sound crisp and pleasant. That’s why it’s called Dingdong Lane.

Chen Peiji’s Former Residence on Jindai Street

Nowadays, the area has faded from its former bustle. Most residents are elderly, preserving a simple and harmonious community spirit. Most shops are grocery stores, and there is one long-established photography studio.

Chen Peiji’s Former Residence on Jindai Street

Walking through the lanes, you’ll occasionally brush past vendors carrying shoulder poles and hawking their wares. Unknown flowers and plants on the walls and moss in the corners seem to show pedestrians their tenacious vitality, while discarded broken door gods reflect the vicissitudes of history.

Former Residences of Celebrities

Located at No. 61 Jindai Street. This site was originally the residence of Yang Qiyuan, who served as the acting Minister of the Ministry of Personnel (or Rites) in the late Ming Dynasty in Huizhou. Later, the family fortunes declined, and descendants sold the residence to Chen Peiji, a successful candidate in the imperial examinations and an educator from Huizhou. On the original site of Yang’s residence, Chen built a three-courtyard quadrangle compound. Its structure includes a front hall, a round arch gate, then a large courtyard, a second courtyard, a patio, with study rooms on both sides, a rear hall, and storage rooms. The building retained materials from the Ming Dynasty, and Chen reused old items in his restoration, using red sandstone drum-shaped column bases, round columns, and hexagonal wooden columns to support the round arch gate. The compound still has walls built in the mid-Qing Dynasty. Also preserved are a stone tablet inscribed with “Chen Peiji, Ranked 44th in the 19th Year of Guangxu’s Reign in the Guangdong Provincial Imperial Examination,” and a portrait of Chen in official attire.

Yang Qiyuan (1547–1599), courtesy name Zhenfu, alias Fusu, was a native of Huicheng District and a renowned Neo-Confucian master of the Ming Dynasty. He placed first in the provincial examination in the first year of the Longqing reign, became a Jinshi (advanced scholar) in 1577, and held various positions including editor, imperial college tutor, chief librarian, imperial college provost, vice minister of the Ministry of Rites in Nanjing, vice minister of the Ministry of Personnel in Nanjing, and acting head of both ministries.

Chen Peiji, courtesy name Biejie, placed first in the imperial examinations in 1893 and served as magistrate of Yongchun County, earning a reputation for good governance. During the Eastern Expedition, he served as magistrate of Huiyang County. Judging from the goose insignia on his official robe, he is believed to have held the rank of fourth-grade official.

Liangyi Chen Ancestral Hall

Located at No. 37 Jindai Street, covering an area of 536 square meters, it has a five-courtyard quadrangle layout, which is rare in Huizhou. The entrance gate is well preserved, with simple and classic beams and complex button-style column bases. The left side of the five-courtyard structure is relatively intact, with distinct levels, built during the Qianlong reign. Most residents on the eastern section of Jindai Street have the surname Chen, and this ancestral hall serves as the main one for the Chen families here.

Chen Family Ancestral Residence

Located at the eastern exit of Jindai Street, at No. 5, First Lane, Shuimen Road, it has a three-courtyard quadrangle layout. The architecture is simple yet refined, preserving many plaster reliefs and murals. The structure includes a main gate on the southeast side, with a study room to the west of the gate, a large courtyard beyond, a side hall to the right of the courtyard, and then the main three-courtyard structure. Currently, the left three courtyards are preserved, while the right three were destroyed during the Anti-Japanese War and later rebuilt as apartments. This house was built by Chen Baohua (courtesy name Yujie). Chen once held a high-ranking official position during the Tongzhi reign. Judging from the kylin insignia on his official robe, he was a first-rank military official and had close ties with then-Governor-General of Liangguang, Rui Lin, who wrote a pair of carved wooden couplets for him: “Green officials and sages flank the trees, divine lords and immortals bloom above and below.” These carved couplets still hang in the central hall. His descendants have also produced many notable figures, including Chen Zi, former Party Committee Secretary and Director of the China National Opera & Dance Drama Theater and a renowned Chinese musician, and Chen Yuyang, Associate Professor at Beijing Jiaotong University. The Chen family still possesses a significant number of ancient calligraphy paintings and carved couplets.

Huang Family Ancestral Hall

Located at No. 36, Huancheng West Road, it is the ancestral hall of the Huang family of Guihui County (now parts of Huiyang, Huidong, Huicheng District, and Bao’an). Built in the 22nd year of the Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty (1842), it was later converted into the Huang Family Study Hall.

The Huang Family Ancestral Hall is a three-courtyard compound, with an additional three-courtyard wing connected via a small lane and side gate. The total construction area is 1,000 square meters. The first courtyard is five bays wide and three bays deep. On either side of the main gate and in front of the central bay are curved stone beams, supported by stone brackets, with stone lions placed on top and a Dougong (bracket set) above. The granite main gate is majestic, standing 3.6 meters high and 2.05 meters wide. The plaque above the gate reads “Huang Family Study Hall” in regular script, carved in intaglio, each character measuring 50x60 cm. The couplet reads “Achievements in Good Governance Rank First” and “Family Tradition of Filial Piety and Friendship Is Unparalleled,” written in running script, carved in intaglio, each character 25x40 cm, with elegant and fluid brushwork of high calligraphic value. At the entrance are a pair of stone pedestal blocks, each 63 cm tall and 54 cm wide. The corridor connecting the first and second courtyards consists of three sections, with a gable and hip roof in the center and rolled shed roofs at the front and back, which not only deepen the front patio but also add visual variety. The rolled shed corridor beams feature complex carvings of combined components supporting the purlins, showcasing distinctive local craftsmanship. The corridor’s horizontal decorations are richly varied. The entire building uses gray-glazed tiles with green glazed tile edging, giving it a solemn and classic appearance. The carvings inside are fluid, with vivid stone lions and exquisitely crafted wooden components. The walls preserve many murals depicting ancient sages. The central hall originally enshrined the Huang ancestors, with spring and autumn ceremonies held annually (before the Anti-Japanese War). The spring ceremony was before Qingming Festival, and the autumn ceremony before Chongyang Festival.

The Huang family is a prominent clan in Guihui County. Historical records show that during the Ming and Qing dynasties, 290 people from the county passed the imperial examinations, 18 of whom were Huangs, including one who received an imperial scholarship in the late Qing Dynasty. Some clan members held positions such as prefectural assistant, county magistrate, magistrate’s assistant, education officer, and military commander. In modern times, the family continued to produce talent, with members holding positions such as division commanders, commissioners, and county magistrates. Many also held senior titles such as professor and chief engineer.

Two stone tablets remain in the Huang Family Ancestral Hall. One is the “Guili Huang Clan Ancestral Hall Construction Preface” tablet, written in 1842 by Huang Bin, a successful candidate in the imperial examinations, education officer of Longmen County, and clan descendant. The other is the “Addition of Memorial Plaques Tablet” from 1927. These two tablets are valuable resources for studying the origins, distribution, clan rules, and customs of the Huang family in Guihui County.

The ancestral hall was designated as a Huizhou Cultural Relics Protection Unit in July 1990.

Huang Family Ancestral Residence

Located at No. 54 Jindai Street, covering an area of 221 square meters, it has a two-courtyard structure. A Ming Dynasty well is preserved in the left wing room of the courtyard. The well’s railing is carved from red sandstone and, despite centuries of wear, remains intact without cracks. To the southwest of the house is the back door of the Zhang residence, and the well never dries up. The water is cool and clear, and still drinkable. Preserving such a well in an ancient dwelling is quite rare.

A well this well-preserved from the Ming Dynasty is truly exceptional.

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