Lujiang Academy

Lujiang Academy

Lujiang Academy is a cultural heritage site protected by the Guangzhou Municipal Government.

Lujiang Academy is located at Liushuijing on West Lake Road and is also known as the He Family Ancestral Hall. It was first built in the 13th year of the Jiaqing reign during the Qing Dynasty (1808) and was renovated during the Daoguang and Guangxu periods. The layout is quite distinctive: along the central axis from south to north are, in sequence, the reverse-facing building, the screen wall, and the main ancestral hall, with east and west examination rooms on both sides. To the southeast stands the gateway tower of the He Family Ancestral Hall, and to the northeast is the Kuixing Tower. The academy covers a total area of 1,722 square meters and is the best-preserved Qing Dynasty academy in Yuexiu District. It currently serves as residential housing. The gateway tower features gable and hip roof with volcano-shaped gables, cylindrical tiles, and green-glazed tile trim. It has two stories, and the door is inlaid with a stone plaque inscribed “He Family Ancestral Hall Path.” The screen wall retains only its stone base, as the wall body itself has been destroyed. The main ancestral hall has three sections in depth, with a flush-gable roof, gray-glazed decorative ridge tiles, cylindrical roof tiles, and green-glazed tile trim, along with gilded wooden carved flower eaves. The beam structure combines bracket sets and column-and-tie construction. The front section is three bays wide and two bays deep, with flush-laid bricks and carved brickwork on the step risers. A stone plaque above the entrance is inscribed “Lujiang Academy,” with a mural reading “Must Attain Longevity” above it. The second section is three bays wide and deep, featuring front and rear rolled corridors. The front corridor has flush-carved wooden beams, and the hall ceiling is adorned with a money-shaped openwork wooden arch. The third section has twelve ancient stone stelae in its east and west corridors, documenting the genealogy of the He family in Guangdong from the Southern Song Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, as well as the construction and renovation history of Lujiang Academy. The Kuixing Tower, also called Dengyun Tower, has three levels, volcano-shaped gables, and a roof ridge crowned with a glazed kylin and precious pearl. The walls are inlaid with two stone plaques.

Further Reading:

· Fourth Batch of Guangzhou Municipal Cultural Heritage Protection Units