The Building of the Guangdong Provincial Department of Finance

The Building of the Guangdong Provincial Department of Finance

The Building of the Guangdong Provincial Department of Finance is a cultural relic protection unit of Guangdong Province.

The Building of the Guangdong Provincial Department of Finance is located at the northern end of Beijing Road. It is a brick, wood, and reinforced concrete structure designed in the style of popular European classical architecture.

The construction was divided into two phases. The first phase built three floors; the foundation was laid in the 4th year of the Republic of China (1915) and completed in the 8th year (1919). A stone plaque at the top of the building's entrance is inscribed with the words “Guangdong Provincial Department of Finance, 8th Year of the Republic of China, June, Auspicious Day.” The second phase included the construction of the fourth and fifth floors as well as the dome.

The building faces south and is 28.57 meters high with a width of 37.14 meters, featuring a concave floor plan. Originally, the first and third floors had reinforced concrete floors, while the second, fourth, and fifth floors had wooden floors. The ground floor serves as a base, with gently arched openings. Visitors ascend granite staircases to reach the second floor. The main entrance is supported by large Roman-style columns, including engaged and square pillars, extending up to the third-floor eaves. A semi-circular Roman colonnade forms the porch, and the third floor features arched corridors. Starting from the fourth floor, double columns support the eaves. Inside the second floor, a central spiral staircase leads upward. The varied moldings on the parapet at the rooftop harmonize with the cornice lines at the top of the building, creating a unified whole. It is an early modern building exhibiting Western classical architectural style.

In 1978, reinforcement and renovation work were carried out. The exterior was preserved, but the original wooden floors on the second, fourth, and fifth floors were replaced with concrete. Partition walls in the front porch and those on the east and west corridors were removed. The building’s windows were replaced with aluminum-steel ones, and the central pediment above the main entrance was taken down. The exterior walls were finished with textured plaster.

The predecessor of the Department of Finance building was the Guangdong Provincial Administration Commission (also known as the Fānsī Yámén) during the Ming and Qing dynasties, serving as the highest administrative agency dispatched by the imperial court to Guangdong Province. When it was first established in the early Ming Dynasty, the Commissioner of Rites (commonly referred to as “Fāntái” or “Fānsī”) was the highest administrative officer of the province. Later, a supervisory governorship role was added above the Commissioner. In the Qing Dynasty, this role was officially designated as a subordinate official to the governor, though the institution remained unchanged. Within the commission, there were departments such as the Office of Records, the Audit Office, the Legal Inquiry Office, the Arms and Armory Bureau, the Mint, and the Textile and Dyeing Bureau. Thus, the Commissioner of Rites actually oversaw the province’s administrative affairs, financial revenues and expenditures, water conservancy projects, tax levies and conscription, as well as agricultural production supervision. They also announced national policies to subordinate prefectures, counties, and districts, reported major state affairs to the governor, and submitted data on the province’s household registrations, taxes, population, and cultivated land to the Ministry of Revenue every ten years. After the establishment of the Republic of China, the site was used to establish the “Guangdong Provincial Department of Finance.”

On April 13, 1921 (the 10th year of the Republic of China), Sun Yat-sen held a tea party with members of the National Assembly in the Department of Finance building. On April 24, he welcomed the returning Guangdong Army that had been aiding Fujian at the department. On May 5, after taking the oath of office as the Extraordinary President, he reviewed the celebratory crowds from the balcony of the building. On June 12, 1922 (the 11th year of the Republic of China), Sun Yat-sen held a press conference at the department, exposing Chen Jiongming’s conspiracy against the Northern Expedition.

In 1993, the Guangzhou Municipal Government designated it as a municipal-level cultural relic protection unit. In July 2002, the Guangdong Provincial Government listed it as a provincial-level cultural relic protection unit.

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Further Reading:

· Fourth Batch of Guangdong Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units