Of the He Surname in Shawan Ancient Town in Panyu

In the Panyu District of Guangzhou lies the 800-year Shawan Ancient Town. The ancient town began its first chapter during the Song dynasty. Cobblestone streets meander through the village, laying the groundwork for the area’s antique Lingnan architecture. A leisurely stroll in this ancient town will take about two hours. If you would like to visit the museums as well, then allow for more time. The town was very crowded as we visited on a Saturday. The atmosphere in the ancient town was festive and business appeared to be booming.


Of the He surname, the He Grand Ancestral Hall is a major landmark in Shawan Ancient Town. The very first He Ancestral Hall was built during the Song dynasty, in around 1275. It took 40 years to build it, and it was meant to be grand even at its very inception. He Renjian is the first generation of He ancestor that settled down in Shawan. With the purchase of a large track of land in here by He Renjian, the He surname became one of the major clans amongst the Panyu five (the other four being Wang, Li, Li and Zhao).
Throughout its long history, the He Grand Ancestral Hall had experienced a few destructions. Yet the descendants had never let the significance of their ancestry slip through the cracks of history. Of the three major reconstructions, the current ancestral hall was rebuilt during the Kangxi reign of the Qing dynasty. It furthermore underwent a major restoration in 1986.




The He Grand Ancestral Hall’s grand architecture is itself of significance. The structure is of five hall, five bay layout, which, even amongst the myriad ancestral halls in the Lingnan area, is in the scale of being majestic. Other standard features of Lingnan architecture are carried through to a grand scale as well, including the 112 stone and timber pillars, the intricate clay sculptures that adorn the rooftops and the eaves etc.


The Wen Feng Tower


A structure of the 60th year of the Kangxi reign (1721), Wen Feng Tower is a fengshui architecture that was attached to Liugeng Tang. It also served as the fengshui tower for the whole village. The three stories tower gives home to Wenchang, Guandi and Kuixing god statues, each god taking up one floor. During the winter term, school children of the village come to this tower to pay tribute to these gods for good academic results.






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Post by Helen Yu (Chestnut Journal) | Mar 28, 2025