The Li Family Qing Dynasty Courtyard Complex in Shuitang

　　Shuitang in Pan County is a market town comprising four villages: Qiansuo, Shangwutun, Zhongwutun, and Xiawutun. It currently houses the administrative offices of Shuitang Town Government. It lies 15 kilometers north of Chengguan Town, the former county seat, and 35 kilometers west of Hongguo Town, the new county seat. With a long history, Shuitang served as a military garrison during the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty, functioning as the site of the Puan Wei Hundred-Household Command, referred to as “Qiansuo.” From the mid-Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty, it was the administrative center of the lower-level jurisdiction under the Ming Puan Zhou and Qing Puan Direct-Controlled Prefecture, historically known as “Nanli.” The area’s primary residents are descendants of migrants from Jiangsu, Anhui, and Hubei provinces during the Ming Dynasty, with ancient culture from Jiangsu and Anhui—especially architectural culture—forming the dominant element of its historical heritage. A large number of residential buildings from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, along with a small number of religious structures, remain to this day. These structures exhibit the refined, delicate, and graceful—but not cramped—architectural characteristics of the Jiangnan region in terms of scale, roof styles and ridges, beam and column craftsmanship, window and door designs, and decorative patterns. Among these buildings, the Li Family Courtyard complex and the ancestral hall of the Li family are relatively well-preserved and most representative, serving as tangible evidence for the study of Qing Dynasty Suzhou-style and Huizhou-style architecture.