Qian Ancestral Hall, Zhongqian Village, Haiyan, Zhejiang

Qian Ancestral Hall, also known as Yongsi Hall, was built in 1584 during the Ming Dynasty. It was built to honor the ancestors of the Qian family, including the first ancestor Qian Fuyi and his wife, and the ancestor He Guisi and his wife. It was rebuilt in 1708 during the Qing Dynasty. It is the main ancestral hall of the descendants of King Qian Liu of Wuyue in Haiyan. In the 20th century, it was used as a granary. The ancestral hall faces Zhongqian Port, with a stone wharf in front and stone revetments on both sides. It covers an area of about 1,700 square meters, with a building area of more than 670 square meters. The ancestral hall is divided into east and west courtyards, separated by a corridor and surrounded by high walls. The building faces south, with three rooms, all of which are brick and wood structures. The house is tall, with a combination of beam-lifting and through-beam structures. The floor is paved with golden bricks, and the roof is a hard mountain roof with yin-yang tiles. The west courtyard is divided into two parts, front and back. The front hall is a row hall, and the back hall is a sacrificial hall. The ground in the garden is paved with granite slabs. There is a round arched door on each of the east and west walls of the front courtyard, and a pair of bluestone lions on the left and right sides of the front hall door. The middle courtyard is divided into two parts, north and south, by a corridor. The west corridor is close to the garden wall, and the east corridor is connected to the east courtyard. The imperial stele of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty, which was given to Qian Yingpu, the 30th grandson of Qian Liu and Minister of Works, is placed in the middle courtyard. The back hall is made of large materials and decorated with exquisite components. There is a small patio behind the hall. The side hall of the east courtyard is a flower hall, with a garden in front, a pond, a hexagonal pavilion, and rockery in the garden. It is a key cultural relic protection unit in Zhejiang Province.