Wu Ancestral Hall on the North Bank

　　Address: Beian, She County, Huangshan City, Anhui Province

　　This ancestral hall is a Han Chinese clan temple building originally built during the Qing Dynasty, serving as a place for the Han people to worship their ancestors and sages. Located in Beian Village, She County, it was constructed in 1826. The ancestral hall serves as a bond that unites the bloodlines and emotions of the Han people. As a symbol and emblem of the long history and traditional culture of the Han people, it holds unparalleled influence and historical value.

　　The structure consists of three bays and three courtyards. The entrance hall features a five-phoenix roof, with exquisitely carved stone bases in the shape of an eight-character wall, brick carvings under the eaves, and finely detailed wood carvings on the bracket arms. The central courtyard’s main hall boasts grand and sturdy moon-reporting beams and golden pillars. In front of the eave pillars are stone railings made of “Yixian Blue” stone, with column capitals carved into stone lions and panels depicting the scenery of West Lake in Hangzhou—refined and delicately executed. The platform of the rear hall is fronted by stone railings that connect with the stepped stone railings on both sides. The railing panels in front of the rear hall feature a panoramic carving of the “Hundred Deer Picture,” depicting deer hidden among the mountains and forests in vivid, lifelike poses. The corridor at the back of the central courtyard is enclosed by 13 railing panels, with stone lions adorning the column capitals and ritual vessels intricately carved on the panels, all remarkably exquisite. Below is a water storage pool. On the right wall of the rear hall is a brick-carved shrine in the style of a three-bay hall, with delicate craftsmanship that fully showcases the exceptional technical skill and perfect artistic forms of ancient Han artisans. It stands as a crystallization of the wisdom and artistry of the Han laboring people. On the left wall is vertically inlaid a stele recording the hall’s renovation. It is now a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.