The Guigang Republican-era Architectural Complex

Guigang Republican-era Architectural Complex

The name "Dongshan District" disappeared from the Guangzhou map following the 2005 administrative division adjustment, but the Republican-era buildings left in the Dongshan area hold significant historical and cultural value. They are known as the "Guigang Republican-era Architectural Complex" and are registered cultural heritage sites in Guangzhou. Although the current homeowners have changed and the scenes are different, one can still glimpse the history of Guangzhou residents who once went overseas to seek a livelihood and later returned to their hometown.

Dongshankou was the earliest Western-style residential area in Guangzhou. Before the late Qing Dynasty, the Dongshankou area was located outside the old city’s eastern gate, mostly consisting of hills and farmland, inhabited by rural residents. In 1906, the American Southern Baptist Convention of Christianity built church schools, hospitals, and charitable institutions in Dongshan. During World War I, many overseas Chinese returned to China, and the living environment developed by the churches attracted them to settle in Dongshankou. In 1915, Huang Kuishi, a returned overseas Chinese capitalist from the United States, acquired over 12,000 square meters of wasteland, leveled the ground, built roads, and engaged in real estate trading. Subsequently, a group of American overseas Chinese originally from Kaiping came here to purchase land and build houses. Later, returned overseas Chinese from various countries successively invested in property in Dongshan, sparking a real estate investment boom in the area.

The official list of specific addresses for the heritage buildings of the "Guigang Republican-era Architectural Complex" includes only five structures: No. 10, Qiming 4th Road, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou (启明四马路10号); Shilu (适庐, No. 10, Qiming 3rd Road, 启明三马路10号); Qilu (憩庐, rear building of No. 12, Qiming 2nd Road, 启明二马路12号后座); No. 1, Jiangling North (江岭北1号); and Maoyuan (茂园, No. 2, Jiangling South, 江岭南2号). In fact, including these five, the complex consists of more than 70 such Republican-era buildings. Most of the buildings are inhabited and well-maintained, with interiors largely unchanged and preserved in their original state from the early Republican period.

Maoyuan is one of the buildings in the Guigang Republican-era Architectural Complex. It is a three-story Western-style house built by overseas Chinese from the United States, functioning as a standalone villa. The building features exposed red brick walls, rooms with stained glass-embedded Manchurian windows, a cantilevered balcony on the second floor with yellow vase-shaped railings. There is a small front courtyard in front of the main building, reflecting a traditional Western architectural style. The potted plants in the yard have grown taller than the one-person-high walls, with some even slightly "peeking" out as if greeting passersby. Upon closer inspection, you’ll notice that Maoyuan is actually situated on a slope, so the building has a segmented, progressively higher wall along the slope, complemented by white diamond-shaped window panes—neat and attractive.

Address: The block where Qiming Avenue and Guigang Avenue intersect, Dongshankou, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou.

Type: Historic Architectural Characteristic District

Recommended Visiting Time: 2–3 hours

Opening Hours:

Open all day

Ticket Information:

No admission fee.