Tangwei Ancient Village

Tangwei Ancient Village

Tangwei Ancient Village is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction and a key cultural relic protection unit of China.

The Tangwei Ming-Qing Ancient Village is one of the best-preserved and largest ancient villages in Dongguan. The village houses 19 traditional academies and 21 ancient banyan trees. The Li Clan Ancestral Hall is grand and steeped in history; the surrounding wall, built during the Ming Dynasty, is the best-preserved ancient village wall in Dongguan. The Tangwei Ming-Qing Ancient Village holds important reference value for researching the architectural styles, social culture, local customs, and even the civilization of Lingnan and the traditional culture of the Chinese nation during the Ming and Qing periods.

The Tangwei Ming-Qing Ancient Village was built along the natural gentle slopes of the hills. In front of the enclosure are three fish ponds—large, medium, and small—representing a crab shell and its two claws. Two ancient wells on the enclosure grounds represent the crab’s eyes, symbolizing a giant crab guarding the village behind and the fertile fields ahead. The village layout is rational, consisting of a surrounding wall, watchtowers, lanes, ancestral halls, study rooms, residences, wells, ponds, banyan trees, and other features that form a distinctive agrarian settlement culture where clans lived together.

The layout of the Tangwei Ming-Qing Ancient Village remains largely intact, with many undamaged Ming and Qing structures. It preserves a wealth of exquisite stone carvings, wood carvings, and lime plaster decorations, as well as a large number of daily and production tools used from the Ming, Qing, Republican periods through to before the reform and opening-up era, giving it high historical, scientific, and artistic value. Bounded by the ancient walls and built along the natural terrain, the village features logically arranged lanes and comprehensive defensive facilities. Most existing buildings were constructed during the Ming and Qing dynasties, with red stone used for door and window frames and wall foundations, and polished blue bricks for the walls. Many fine wood carvings, stone carvings, and lime plaster decorations have been preserved, along with numerous historical daily and production tools. Except for the main ancestral hall, which has a three-courtyard layout, other family ancestral halls are designed as two-courtyard quadrangle compounds. Residential buildings mostly follow a three-bay-two-corridor or three-bay-one-corridor layout, varying slightly based on their relation to the lanes. The combination of residences with study rooms and ancestral halls is a notable feature of the Tangwei Ming-Qing Ancient Village.

Jing Tong Ancestral Hall: Originally built in the mid-Qing Dynasty, this is the family shrine of the 10th-generation ancestor Li Jing Tong, first established during the Ming Longqing period and renovated in the Qing Jiaqing period. Facing south, it has a three-bay, two-courtyard layout with a mixed post-and-lintel and through-tenon beam structure and a flush gable roof. The front section features two teaching platforms. It is 9.5 meters wide and 17.1 meters deep, covering an area of 162.45 square meters. The brick-and-wood structure features a flush gable roof, intricately carved eave boards, beams, as well as stone carvings of plows and crossbeams.

Bao Qing Family School: Expanded by Li Ji Nan during the Republican era from his ancestral home, it is 8.85 meters wide and 9.5 meters long. Initially a combined family shrine and residence, it was converted into a school after Li Ji Nan and Chen Botao both passed the provincial imperial examination. The existing red stone plaque inscribed with "Bao Qing Family School" was written by Chen Botao, the top scholar of the Guangxu era in Dongguan, in 1919.

Mei An Ancestral Hall: The family shrine of Li Mei An, the 12th-generation ancestor of the Shang Ban Li clan in Tangwei. Originally built before the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty and renovated in the first year of the Daoguang reign (1821) of the Qing Dynasty. Facing south, it has a three-bay, two-courtyard layout with two teaching platforms in the front section and a mixed post-and-lintel beam structure. It is 9.88 meters wide, 14.3 meters long, and covers 141.28 square meters. The brick-and-wood structure has a flush gable roof and a mixed post-and-lintel beam system. The Mei An Ancestral Hall preserves original ancestral tablets from the 10th-generation ancestor of the Ming Dynasty to the 22nd-generation ancestor of the Qing Dynasty, a rarity in Dongguan. The shrine also enshrines the statue of Kang Wang, a deity of folk belief in Tangwei, hence it is also called Kang Shuai Fu.

The Li Clan Ancestral Hall of Tangwei is located at the northwest corner of the village, facing south. It has a five-bay, three-courtyard layout, covers over 770 square meters, and was built in the early Ming Dynasty. It has been renovated three times, most recently in 1999. On either side of the entrance are flagpole stands erected by Li Yan Guang, who ranked third in the provincial imperial examination in the 23rd year of the Guangxu reign. The central hall of the second courtyard is named “Zhu Yuan” (Pursue the Distant), with plaques for “Wen Kui” (Literary Luminary) and “Jing Yuan” (Classic Champion) hung below the front eaves—both reproductions, as the originals, installed by Ming-era scholar Li Zhi, were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. The inner walls display spirit tablets, and couplets read: “Looking up, I recall the merits of our ancestors; with devotion, I honor the filial sons and compassionate grandchildren.” Three suckling pigs, carried back from the tomb of the sixth-generation ancestor, lay quietly before the altar amid incense smoke, offered to the ancestors.

Ancient Wells: The Tangwei Ming-Qing Ancient Village has 10 ancient wells, located along lanes for public use or in the courtyards of residences and family shrines for private use. The well walls are built from blue bricks, while the well rims are hollowed out from whole pieces of red stone, typically 0.87 meters in diameter and 0.40 meters in height. By the late Qing Dynasty, granite was used.

Ancient Lanes: The lanes of Tangwei form a grid-like network. There are seven north-south straight lanes and four east-west cross lanes. The lanes are paved with red stone slabs, about 2 meters wide, with complete drainage channels underneath. By the late Qing Dynasty during the Guangxu reign, wealthy merchant Li Zhi Zhong converted some red stone lanes into granite lanes. These crossed the enclosure, exited from the east gate to Niu Guo Village, connecting to the then Nanshe Railway Station, or exited from the north gate directly to the Shilong Ferry at Mushupai Village, totaling nearly 10 kilometers. Only about 300 meters remain within the enclosure today.

Tangwei Ancient Wall, Enclosure Gates, and Watchtowers: Built in the Ming Dynasty and maintained in subsequent eras. The wall encircles the ancient village, stretching 860.8 meters in circumference, 5 meters high, and 0.35 meters wide, with a red stone foundation and blue brick body. A buttress wall is built every 4 meters.

Four enclosure gates are located at the southeast, southwest, northwest, and northeast corners, locally called East Gate, South Gate, West Gate, and North Gate. The East Gate is the largest, measuring 4.24 meters wide, 5.38 meters long, and 9.30 meters high. It is a two-story building with blue brick “pot-ear” gables, and bears a plaque inscribed “Xiù Bǎ Dōng Nán” (Graceful Beauty of the Southeast) above the gate.

The wall includes 28 watchtowers (locally called Lou Dou or gun towers), each named after one of the 28 lunar mansions. They vary in size but generally measure 4.5 meters in length and width, and 7 meters in height. Together with the wall, gates, and towers, they form a complete defensive system that safeguarded the Tangwei Ancient Village. Over the past century, they successfully repelled attacks such as the 1911 looting by Qing troops and the 1944 incursion by bandit Li Chao from Shijie, Shipu. Today, the gates remain intact, the wall is largely preserved, and 19 watchtowers still stand.

Qi Fang Hall and Dun Mu Tang: A typical example of a family shrine combined with another. Qi Fang Hall is the family shrine of Li Song Shi (commonly referred to as a “hall”), while Dun Mu Tang is the family shrine of his son. They are connected by a door and a courtyard, with a total width of 9.6 meters and length of 20.95 meters. Qi Fang Hall is 10.31 meters long, the central courtyard 1.04 meters, and Dun Mu Tang 9.6 meters. Qi Fang Hall was built during the Tongzhi and Xianfeng eras, and Dun Mu Tang during the Guangxu era, both featuring a three-bay, two-courtyard layout. Dun Mu Tang has exquisitely carved eave boards and beams.

Shou Shan Tang: A typical example of a family shrine integrated with a residence. This combined structure was built during the Guangxu era, with a side door connecting the two. The shrine has a three-bay, two-courtyard layout, and the residence a three-bay, one-corridor layout. The shrine is 9.14 meters wide and 11.9 meters long, the residence 5.8 meters wide and 11.23 meters long. The residence is slightly smaller and less ornate than the shrine. The shrine’s screen and beam decorations are refined.

Address: Tangwei Village, Shipai Town, Dongguan City

Type: Ancient Town/Village

Recommended Visit Duration: 2–3 hours

Opening Hours: Open all day

Ticket Information: Free admission

Tangwei Village: Located in the eastern part of Dongguan City, Shipai Town’s Tangwei Village covers an area of 1.57 square kilometers. The village boasts well-connected roads, with Tahe Middle Road, Shigang Avenue, and Li Heng Road passing through, ensuring convenient transportation and a pleasant environment. The ancient village within Tangwei, recognized for its well-preserved architecture, ecological surroundings, and rich folk traditions, was designated as part of the sixth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units by the State Council in May 2006. Bounded by the ancient wall and built along the natural terrain, the village features a rigorously planned, well-preserved layout with diverse housing types and blended architectural styles, strong Lingnan characteristics… More details about Tangwei Village ++

Further Reading:

· Fourth Batch of Guangdong Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units