Kuiju Building

　　Kuiju Building is situated in the northwest of Hongkeng Village and was constructed in the 14th year of the Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty (1834). It faces south and occupies approximately 6,000 square meters, featuring three halls and two courtyards. The central axis from south to north consists successively of the main gate, entrance hall, patio, middle hall, patio, grand hall (front hall of the ancestral hall), and ancestral hall, flanked by side buildings. The main building is square-shaped, with an earthen-and-wood structure, spanning 33 meters in width and 31 meters in depth. The ground floor walls are 1.5 meters thick. It has an interior corridor layout, combining post-and-lintel and Dougong (bracket set) wooden frameworks. The front section has three floors, while the rear section has four, with the back higher than the front and a significant elevation difference. The first and second floors of the front part have no windows, and the first, second, and third floors of the rear section also lack windows due to its proximity to the mountain at the back. The entire building has only one main entrance. The roofs of both the front and rear sections of the main building are divided into three segments, featuring broken-hipped gable-and-pavilion roofs, while the side buildings have flush-gable roofs stepped in tiers. The ground floor of the main building houses kitchens and dining rooms, the second floor contains grain storage, and the upper floors above the third are bedrooms. Between the front and rear sections of the side buildings, firewalls made of blue bricks are built from the ground floor up to the third floor, separating them. The interior corridors are connected by arched brick gateways, with symmetrical brick walls on both sides. These brick walls also serve as the dividing line between the front and rear sections of the building. The ground floor corridor is paved with pebbles, while the upper floors use thinner blue bricks that offer some fireproofing benefits. The ancestral hall is located along the central axis of the rear building and occupies a more prominent space within the entire complex compared to other earthen buildings. The inner courtyard encloses a small enclosed yard formed by the corridors on both sides of the front hall and central hall of the ancestral hall, all opening toward the central patio, with wing rooms surrounding the outer side.

　　The floors of the ancestral hall and wing rooms are paved with lime concrete. The left and right wing rooms serve not only as bathrooms and toilets but also each house a well. The wells are located within open wing rooms, with a hole in the tiled roof matching the size of the wellhead, keeping the well exposed to the open air while allowing the owners to draw water even during rainy weather. The ancestral hall is elaborately carved and painted. Its front hall is a two-story brick-and-wood structure in the form of a pavilion, with a double-eaved gable-and-pavilion roof that connects to the lower eaves of the rear building. The second-floor canopy hall, called "Dunli Hall," is exquisitely decorated, with a plaque inscribed with the honorific title “Xuan Kui” (Selected Luminary) bestowed upon the building’s owner Lin Kui after he achieved scholarly recognition, hanging beneath its flying eaves. A small roof projects from the middle section of the lower eaves on the fourth floor of the rear building, creating four overlapping layers of eaves at the front of the ancestral hall—clearly tiered, majestic, and spectacular. This is why many refer to this building as resembling a Tibetan Potala Palace style architecture. The central hall is located in front of the ancestral hall and behind the building’s entrance hall. It is single-storied, richly ornamented, elegant and grand, with a lime concrete floor and a bluestone door frame.

　　The building has many interior corridors and side doors. Arch-shaped side doors are adorned with plaques bearing inscriptions about ethics, righteousness, benevolence, and virtue.

　　The building’s main gate has a bluestone frame, with the building’s name engraved on the lintel. On both sides are couplets inscribed by Wu Yifu, a Hanlin academician from the Qing Dynasty (a native of Daxi Township, Yongding County): “The brilliance of the Kui star shines upon a flourishing civilization; the gathering of clans here heralds a new and splendid vista.” The door panels are covered with iron sheets.

　　In front of the building is a courtyard enclosed by a low wall made of cobblestones, and the entrance courtyard is paved with pebbles. The outer gate is located to the southwest, connected to the enclosing wall and forming an angle of approximately 45 degrees with the building’s central axis. It features a hipped-and-gable roof, exquisite decorations, and a bluestone frame.