Jixia Architectural Complex
2021-07-19 12:55:28
Jixia Architectural Complex consists of Longji Fairy Palace, Yunlumen Gate Tower, Longshan Ancestral Hall, Ganshi Ancestral Hall, Yingxian Bridge, Zhiguo Pavilion, Feilai Temple and Jubao Bridge.
(1) Longji Fairy Palace, aka Dengying Palace, was rebuilt in the third year of Emperor Longqing of the Ming Dynasty (1569) and the 17th year of Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1891). It faces north, covering about 230 square meters, and consists of a gate house, a patio, a main hall and wing-rooms. The main hall, with a width of 9 meters and a length of 14.4 meters, was built in a mixed wooden construction and gable and hip roof with double eaves.
(2) Yunmenlu Gate Tower was built during the reign of Emperor Tianshun in the Ming Dynasty (1457-1464). It consists of two floors. The ground floor was built in brick masonry structure, with a north gate and a east gate. The upper floor, with a width of 5.4 meters and a length of 9 meters, was built in a mixed wooden construction and gable and hip roof.
(3) Longshan Ancestral Hall was built during the reign of Emperor Tianshun in the Ming Dynasty (1457-1464), and formally named as memorial temple during 1821 and 1850. It is situated by the Longjixi Stream, in the right front of the ancestral hall. It features in a single courtyard with four walls, with a width of 15.82 meters and a length of 29.67 meters. The front patio with two walls used to be place for getting down from a horse. The middle room has eight pillars, forming a broad and airy hall. It shows extraordinary craft skills, which demonstrate the architectural style of the Ming Dynasty.
(4) Ganshi Ancestral Hall was built along a stream. It owns four high walls, with a gate in the middle. It is a single courtyard, with a width of 8.9 meters and a length of 21.53 meters. There is a front patio with three walls. The hall is broad, with a width of 5.71 meters and a length of 10.41 meters. However, instead of columns, rooms on each sides of the hall were built with gable walls. The hall has a front porch, and was built in a column and tie construction, which ensure its simple and practical style.
(5) Yingxian Bridge was a covered bridge to take shelter from rain, with a length of 9.99 meters, a width of 3.50 meters, and a height above the water of 3.89 meters. It has wooden flat beams and gable and hip roof with single eave. On the inside and outside walls of the beams of the bridge, many character stories and flowers and birds painted decorations were left.
(6) Zhiguo Pavilion is located in the southwestern Jixia Village, and is on the only way which must be passed if you want to access into and out of the village from the south. It is in a square shape, with a width of 6.5 meters and a height of 5.45 meters. It was built with gable and hip roof with single eave, and in a mixed construction of column and tie construction and post and lintel construction. The shrine in it is for the statue of Guan Yu, Guan Ping and Zhou Cang. It was rebuilt in the 44th year of Emperor Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty (1705). The structure inside the pavilion is very clear and simple, featuring in typical architectural style of the Ming Dynasty. On the inside and outside walls of the beams, many colorful paintings of character stories were left, which is invaluable. Themes of the painting including Romans of Three Kingdoms, Water Margin, The Legend of Deification, and other legends. All the figures have different actions and act as natural as though they were living. All the pictures were drawn in smooth lines, with vibrant colors. It can be reviewed as a library of colorful pictures of the Qing Dynasty.
(7) Feilai Temple used to be called Shuiwei Temple, because its previous address is Shuiwei, facing west. Now it was moved to the right of Jubao Bridge to offer sacrifices to Feilai King and his wife. It is a single courtyard, covering 155.89 square meters. The front patio has three walls. The main hall built with gable and hip roof with single eave, 8.63 meters wide and 8.57 meters long. There are a lot of ancient wall painting and couplets on the front hall, both sides of shrines in the main hall, and walls.
(8) Jubao Bridge, aka Jichuan Bridge or Shuiwei Bridge, was built in wooden structure with flat beams. There are two cantilever arches on each side, gable and hip roof with single eave, and eight compartments and sixteen pillars. It is a covered bridge to get shelter from rain, with a length of 25.11 meters, a width of 3.97 meters, and a height above the water of 4.88 meters. The shrine in the bridge is for Xuantian Heaven Emperor.