Yanxi Archway

Yanxi Archway

Yanxi Archway is a cultural relic protection unit of Lianzhou City.

The simple yet stately Yanxi Archway stands about twenty meters north of Yanxi Pavilion. It was the original gateway to Yanxi Academy (founded during the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty, it was the predecessor of Yanxi Primary and Secondary Schools, which were later merged into Lianzhou Middle School). In the 29th year of the Republic of China (1940), Principal Yang Zhiquan oversaw its construction.

The top of the central archway gate features the original school emblem of Yanxi Primary and Secondary Schools. The emblem is a flat-topped triangle, with the outline of Jingfeng Mountain painted at the top and the two-tone artistic characters “Yanxi” at the bottom. The emblem was designed by the painter and calligrapher Yang Zhiquan. To the right of the emblem is the character “Yan,” and to the left is the character “Xi.”

The top of the right gate bears the characters “Ge Fei” (Wings Soaring), while the top of the left gate reads “Peng Bo” ( roc Soaring). The couplet on the central gate reads: upper line “The literary works of the Ministry of Personnel tower above the North Star,” lower line “Lianzhou’s waters and rocks rank first in the southern corner.” A note beside the upper line reads: “Inscription of the Yanxi Pavilion poem by Ming Dynasty scholar Yu Taichu from Funing, carved on the stone to the right of the pavilion. The characters are small, faint, and half-eroded by wind and rain. This is an excerpt recorded here.” The annotation beside the lower line states: “Written by Yang Zhiquan, local resident, on New Year’s Day, 29th year of the Republic of China.”

On the back of the archway, the central gate features the cursive script characters “Yin Ren Ru Sheng” (A Place That Captivates). The couplet on the central gate reads: “Heavenly springs gush forth, merging with Twin Streams to seek living waters; Jingfeng Mountain extends its earth veins, where one glance overlooks the lesser mountains.”

In 2011, it was designated as part of the second batch of cultural relic protection units of Lianzhou City by the Lianzhou Municipal People's Government, and is protected under the “Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Cultural Relics.”

Protected area: Extending 30 meters outward from the main body of the cultural relic structure;

Construction control zone: Extending 30 meters outward from the protected area.