The former site of the Wuxuan Department Store in Guangxi.

The old Wuxuan Department Store faces west and was originally the residence of Zheng Fangting during the Republic of China period. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, it was confiscated as public property and allocated to the Wuxuan County Department Store, which was used as a department store, commonly known as the Department Store. Zheng Fangting was a businessman from Guangdong who first came to Wuxuan for business. Zheng Tingfang's old house was originally a three-story building. There was a patio between the first and second floors, and the distance between the second and third floors was relatively close, about 2 meters apart, without a patio. After the liberation, the Department Store demolished and rebuilt the first floor, which was a two-story building with a flat roof made of cement and brick. There are three openings on the street, with columns on both sides of the middle, square columns on the second floor, and two openings on the left and right in the form of kitchen windows, which were used for product display at that time. The second floor is the original main building, which is well preserved. It is a brick wall with a tile surface, three stories high, and is generally square, with a side length of about 140 meters. The entire building is supported by four brick columns in the center and the surrounding walls. The brick columns rise from the first floor to the top of the third floor, forming a square shape with a side length of 80 cm. The floor is very thick, the floor pillows are very dense, and the distance is only 20 cm. There are nearly 10 gun holes on the south, north, and east walls of the second and third floors, which have strong military defense properties. The gate on the first floor is exceptionally sturdy, with a frame height of 2 meters and a width of 1 meter, built with rectangular stone strips, and the original door no longer exists. The distance between the second and third floors is about 2 meters. The buildings on the third floor are relatively simple, all of which are mud walls with tile surfaces, which are now in ruins. From 1949 to 1950, the Department Store was once the station of the 24th Regiment of the 8th Detachment of the Guangdong-Guangxi Border Column. After the 24th Regiment was incorporated into the Fourth Field Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, the Wuyi County Department Store was used as a department store. After the reform and opening up, the Department Store was disbanded; the house was handed over to the Wuxuan County Museum for management. It is now the Wuxuan County Old Department Store Cultural and Art Development Center.

Post by VictoriaMcDermott99 | Oct 3, 2024