ngyue Archway Group: A representative work of ancient Huizhou architectural art from the Ming and Qing dynasties

She County is known as the 'Hometown of Archways', with 73 existing archways (some say 80 or 100), made of stone, wood, and brick, with the majority being made of grey She County stone. 【Tangyue Archway Group】, 7 Ming and Qing archways are arranged in sequence, forming a semi-circular layout. The Qianlong Emperor once praised the Bao family, the owners of the archways, calling them 'a family unparalleled in kindness and filial piety, the foremost in embroidered garments in the south of the Yangtze'. 【Tangyue History】 Tangyue, formerly known as 'Tangyue', also called Tangchuan and Cixiao Li. The Bao family of Tangyue moved here from the Southern Song Dynasty and has a history of over 870 years. The Bao family is one of the major surnames among the fifteen surnames of Xin'an. The Bao family of Tangyue has produced generations of talented individuals and famous people, such as Yuan Dynasty top scholar Bao Tongren, Ming Dynasty Minister Bao Xiangxian, and Hanlin editor Bao Ying, among others; 【Tangyue Archway Group】 Almost all made of stone, mainly using the high-quality 'She County Green' stone. The group's structural layout adopts a strict central axis symmetry, giving a sense of stability. Moreover, there are no other buildings on either side of the archways, only farmland, making the archway group particularly prominent and spectacular. Qiong Yao's drama 'Smoke Locks the High Building' and the well-liked movie 'The Warlords' were filmed here. There are seven archways, three from the Ming Dynasty and four from the Qing Dynasty. The earliest archway was built in the 18th year of the Yongle era of the Ming Dynasty (1420 AD) ⭐【Cixiao Li Fang】⭐ With a scroll-patterned ridge, 4 pillars and 3 bays, the archway is 8.57 meters wide, 2.53 meters deep, and 9.6 meters high, built to honor the late Song Dynasty scholar Bao Yuanyan and his son Bao Shouxun. The words 'Imperial Order' on the archway's dragon and phoenix board indicate that the emperor funded its construction from the national treasury. In the middle of the archways, there is a pavilion that looks very much like a ⭐official's hat - the Buceng Pavilion. The guide said that one needs to look up at the top inside the pavilion for good fortune and official luck. 📣Other attractions: Dunben Hall, Dunben Hall (Male Ancestral Hall), Qingyi Hall (Female Ancestral Hall), Bao Family Garden, Tangyue Ancient Village. 🚵🏻‍♂️Address: Zhengcun Town, She County, Anhui 💵Ticket price: 90 yuan. Free on Wednesdays in the first quarter of 202