Former Site of the Shinan Pacification Commission

　　   Located in Shuitianba Village, Jiaoyuan Town, Xuan’en County. Also known as the Tusi Imperial City of Shuitianba. The Shinan Pacification Commission was first established in the early Yuan Dynasty under the name Shinan Tong Xuanwei Si (Shinan Pacification and Pacification Commissioner Office). In the fourth year of the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty (1371), it remained as before, and in the second year of the Yongle era (1404), it was restructured as a Changguan Si (local pacification office), under the jurisdiction of the Datian Military and Civilian Qianhu Suo (Datian Military and Civilian Thousand-Household Office). Its administrative seat was established in the fourth year of the Yongle era (1406). The site faces south and covers an area of 5,000 square meters. The former imperial city has been destroyed, with only the imperial palace remaining, which was rebuilt in the mid-Qing Dynasty. It features a traditional Chinese siheyuan (courtyard) layout with two courtyards, including a front hall, central hall, main hall, and left and right wing rooms. The structure spans five bays (17.5 meters) in width and 26.6 meters in depth. The roof is single-eaved, gabled, and covered with gray tiles. The main buildings use a post-and-lintel wooden frame construction and are enclosed by brick walls. Approximately 2.6 meters in front of the front hall stands a stone memorial archway gate with double pillars and a single bay. One stone stele remains, inscribed with nine characters in regular script: “Shizhou Wei Shijue Xuanfu Shi Si” (Hereditary Pacification Commissioner Office of Shizhou Guard). Several stone carvings of animals such as horses, deer, elephants, cranes, and qilins are also preserved in the courtyard. (Third Batch)

　　   Source: Hubei Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau