photo from GoogleMaps
Jinlun Guild Hall was constructed in 1723 and rebuilt in 1844. It was originally the office of silk trading association of Guangzhou. Trading associations for different goods saw their development during Qing Dynasty along with the Maritime Silk Road, many of them built their own congregation halls serving as offices and meeting places. A shrine with Taoist or ancestral altar was an integral part of such buildings.
The building itself is ancestral temple type building with three consecutive halls and highly ornate roofs. Now the halls are almost empty except for some silk embroidery exhibition items and paintings for sale adorning the walls. Altars are gone, and side rooms house a stamp-carver’s workshop and a calligrapher. The structure itself is well-preserved and contains many original woodcarvings and carved stone inscriptions.
It’s the only guild hall building surviving in Guangzhou, out of dozens destroyed in turbulent times.
It’s also famous for its relocation and subsequent renovation project - in 2001, to make way for road widening, the Guild Hall was disassembled and moved northward by 80 meters, westward by 22.4 meters and elevated by 1.085 meters – a new word in Chinese traditional buildings’ preservation.
picture of relocation/renovation from lifeofguangzhou website
Jinlun Guild Hall (锦纶会馆)
Admission: 3 RMB
Location: South Kangwang Road, near the jade market
Metro: Chang Shou Lu
No comments:
Post a Comment