Building of the Prefectural Yamen

　　The Building of the Prefectural Yamen is situated on Shuguang Hutong, Guanghua Road, Henan Street, north of the People's Government of the Autonomous Prefecture. It was first constructed in the late years of the Guangxu reign during the Qing Dynasty. It is said that it once served as the southern building of the Border Affairs Supervisory Yamen, established in the first year of the Xuantong reign (1909). In June of the same year, the Qing court abolished the Hunchun Vice Commander’s Office and set up the Southeastern Military Defense Yamen of Jilin, relocating it to Yanji. In February 1910, the Border Affairs Yamen was disbanded. In February 1913, the Yamen was reorganized into the Southeastern Road Observation Yamen. Then in June 1914, the Observation Yamen was again renamed as the Prefectural Yamen of Yanji, which remained until the Prefectural Yamen was abolished in 1929. During this period, the southern building continuously functioned as the office of the Yamen, the Observation Yamen, and the Prefectural Yamen. Because it served as the Prefectural Yamen for as long as 16 years, it became commonly known as the Prefectural Yamen Building. It is also referred to as the “Border Affairs Supervisory Yamen Building,” and some call it the “Frontier Defense Building.” However, some research suggests that the “Frontier Defense Building” should actually be the Zhendong Tower (also known as Wanghai Tower) in Hunchun. In 1983, this site was listed as a key municipal cultural heritage protection unit.