Yan Family Ancestral Hall

　　    The Yan Family Ancestral Hall is situated in Dashuiping Village, Jianshan Township, approximately 40 kilometers northwest of Xianfeng County, and covers a total floor area of 736 square meters. It was collectively funded and built by local members of the Yan clan. Construction began in the first year of the Guangxu reign during the Qing Dynasty (1875) when timber was felled, and the hall was completed in the third year of Guangxu.

　　    The Yan Family Ancestral Hall is a brick-and-wood structure in the form of a traditional quadrangle courtyard, mainly divided into three sections: the entrance hall, the pavilion courtyard, and the main hall.

　　    The entrance hall is 6 meters high, featuring wooden pillars and beams, with four rows of twenty pillars and no bracket sets. There are three connecting rooms with twelve intricately carved lattice doors both inside and out, giving it an elegant and classic appearance. Passing through the entrance hall leads to a square courtyard with sides measuring 12.8 meters. In the center is a hexagonal release pond constructed from eight stone slabs, with a long hexagonal shape. The outer wall is inscribed with the Sixteen Clan Rules compiled by Wang Shipin, all surrounded by exquisitely carved cloud patterns. About 0.7 meters above the pond is a tilted stone carving masterpiece — the Coiled Dragon Stone. Measuring 2.6 meters in length and 2.06 meters in width, the stone features hollow-carved designs depicting three dragons competing for a pearl and carp leaping over the dragon gate.

　　    The main hall is 17 meters long, 12.2 meters wide, 8 meters high, with a floor area of 21.24 square meters. It consists of four rows, three rooms, twenty-four pillars, and twenty-two crossbeams, with the middle two rows having five pillars and six crossbeams, and the side rows having seven pillars and five crossbeams. The pillars have a diameter of 0.55 meters. Inside the main hall, three parallel wooden spirit niches are set up for enshrining ancestral tablets. The central niche features two hollow-carved wooden dragons coiling around its front pillars. These dragons can move up and down along the pillars, appearing vivid and lifelike.

　　    Directly outside and connected to the main hall is an elevated pavilion with soaring, upturned eaves. The pavilion stands 10.7 meters high and measures 7 meters in both length and width. A long ladder inside the pavilion leads to the top, offering a panoramic view. Beneath the pavilion, the bases of two pillars are carved from premium bluestone into a pair of male and female lions. The male lion on the left is depicted playing with a brocaded ball, which has a movable stone ball in its mouth — visitors can reach in and freely spin it, but no matter the angle, it cannot be removed.