The Wei Family Courtyard in Ganzhou, Jiangxi.

The Wei Family Courtyard is the most complete, largest and most representative Hakka building with nine halls and eighteen wells in Ganzhou City. The ancestor of the Wei family, Chief Wei, moved from Weifang outside the west gate of Liancheng, Fujian, to Ganzhou City during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. He was a typical Hakka who "migrated to Ganzhou backwards".
The Wei family made their fortune in lumber and banking business, and later became one of the four famous families in Ganzhou during the Republic of China. This courtyard was built by Wei Zongzhang's nephew Wei Tianji during the Jiaqing period. In the 31st year of Guangxu (AD 1905), Wei Yuanjun's wife Zheng's 100th birthday, the Wei clan built a majestic and beautifully decorated ancestral hall to commemorate the Zheng family. Celebrate birthday. In the early years of the Republic of China, two additional residences were built on the west and north sides of the ancestral hall, forming a courtyard-style school. At this point, the scale of the Wei family compound has been basically finalized, with 5 residential buildings, 1 kitchen, stable, and utility room each, 1 ancestral hall, 2 barns, 2 old-style teaching halls, and 1 new-style school. The main building of the Wei family courtyard covers an area of ​​3,000 square meters. Together with other ancillary buildings such as ancestral halls and schools, it covers an area of ​​more than 18,000 square meters. All buildings are made of volcanic walls with water-polished blue bricks. The beams are made of exquisite materials and the wooden construction is exquisite. The exquisite carvings can be said to be the essence of Ganzhou's ancient architecture. The Wei Family Courtyard is now the Gannan Hakka Culture Museum, which is free to visit. It is a key cultural relic protection unit in Jiangxi Province.

Post by VictoriaMcDermott99 | Nov 11, 2024