Yingqian Ancient Town

　　During the late Tang Dynasty, Lu Guangchou, the military governor of Qianzhou, stationed troops and cultivated farmland here. Merchants set up stalls and traded in front of the barracks. Over time, the trading area expanded, and both soldiers and civilians began gathering at the market. As a result, the place came to be known as “Yingqian Xu” (Yingqian Market). Yingqian is a settlement of the Hakka people and has preserved many old houses with distinctive Hakka architectural features—gray bricks, black tiles, and white walls. Among them, the most unique and representative is the Jiuting Shiba Jing (Nine Halls and Eighteen Courtyards), which consists of three sets of horizontally arranged and four sets of vertically aligned houses symmetrically intersecting to form a chessboard-like layout. The central axis includes the lower hall, middle hall, upper hall, and rear garden pool, while each wing has three smaller halls. To ensure good lighting and drainage, a courtyard is placed between every two halls, all connected to the drainage system. Even during the rainiest seasons, water drains smoothly, keeping interiors dry and well-ventilated. The design combines residential comfort with practical utility.