There is a Huai Army Office in Baoding, which is beautifully designed and worth collecting.

As an important military town, Baoding always gives people the impression of being rough and tough. However, this town hall built to commemorate the soldiers of the Huai Army has become more tender and delicate due to the existence of a theater. When traveling to Baoding, don't miss this interesting and pleasant check-in spot. It is rare to see Hui-style ancestral hall buildings in the north, but there is one in Baoding - the Huai Army Office. This was originally a Zhaozhong Temple built by Li Hongzhang to commemorate the Huai Army soldiers after he became the Governor-General of Zhili. Its full name is "Huai Army Zhaozhong Temple and Public Office." But if you walk in now, the exhibits inside will surprise you. The theater and the ancestral hall, two completely unrelated buildings, coexist harmoniously in the Huai Army Office. The most crucial factor is the theater, where the Huai Army and their Anhui fellows used to perform operas and set up banquets. It is the largest existing closed theater from the Qing Dynasty in the country and a representative relic of Chinese theaters. To understand the theater, you might as well start from the museum. “Life in Various Forms, Operas through the Ages – Historical Exhibition of Ancient Chinese Operas” gives a detailed introduction to the origin and development of ancient Chinese operas and operas with unique characteristics, which is an eye-opener. With the origin of opera, the stage came into being. The earliest stages were mostly in the form of squares, halls, terraces, etc. Gradually, fixed buildings such as temple music towers, tile market brothels, mansion stages, restaurants, teahouses, and theaters appeared. The large and small stages are the most romantic and lively places. They are the epitome of the lives of ordinary people. For thousands of years, the operas on the stage have been sung scene after scene, and the audiences in the audience have changed. Wave after wave, the ancient stage remains the same, standing silently and recording silently. Theaters in different dynasties and places are very different, each with its own beauty and exquisite design. The wisdom of the ancients always makes modern people feel inferior. The theater in the town hall looks extremely gorgeous and exquisite just from the entrance. The stone carvings above the red door are delicate and intricate, the figures are lifelike, and the floral patterns are so exquisite that you can't miss them. Although it is an enclosed theater, it is not only large in area but also incredibly high. When you walk into it, you will feel it is spacious and open. The exquisite wood carvings, old-fashioned tables, chairs and benches, and palace lanterns shining with warm light all make people feel dazed, as if they were instantly dreaming back to the Qing Dynasty. The backyard of the theater is a great place to quietly appreciate the three kinds of carvings in Hui-style architecture: wood carvings, brick carvings, and stone carvings, all of which are lifelike and lifelike. The carvings contain a variety of contents, including traditional opera segments, folk stories, myths and legends. Walking in the garden, you will feel quiet and comfortable, with blue bricks, black tiles, horse-head walls, simple and elegant, making you feel like "dreaming of Huizhou".