Hakka Capital - The Splendid Tingzhou (Part 6): South Main Street

South Main Street is the central axis of the ancient city of Changting and is a core component of the four major historical districts of the Changting historical and cultural ancient city. South Main Street was established during the Tang Dynasty and has always been the main residential area of Tingzhou. To this day, it retains many grand mansion-style residences and ancestral family temples, witnessing the years of social, economic, and cultural development in Tingzhou. As the name suggests, South Main Street is located to the south of Changting County, extending north to the Sanyuan Pavilion Square, Zhaozheng Road, and the west wall of the former watchhouse; to the south along South Main Street to the area outside the Baozhu Gate city tower by the protective river; and to the east near the Tingzhou Hospital area. The buildings on both sides of South Main Street are mostly wealthy homes and ancestral halls, reflecting the Hakka pursuit of Central Plains mansion-style architectural characteristics, with 'nine halls and eighteen wells,' three-entry and four-entry mansions, stylish and exquisite wood carvings, and finely crafted architectural details, all of which add to the rich Hakka architectural style and value of this historical district. For example, the county-level cultural relics protection units such as the Lai's Tanyuan Public Ancestral Hall, Ziyun Public Ancestral Hall (Wu Residence), as well as the Lai family temple, Xinxin Alley ancient family ancestral halls, and so on. There are also two important provincial-level cultural relics protection units on South Main Street: the Sanyuan Pavilion city tower and the Baozhu Tower city tower. The Sanyuan Pavilion city tower (also known as Guangchu Men), located between Zhaozheng Road and Xinxin Alley, is at the core of the Sanyuan Pavilion Square and on the central axis of the South Main Street historical district. The Sanyuan Pavilion was built during the Tang Dynasty and served as the ancient city gate for successive states, prefectures, roads, and exclusive administrative centers. The city tower is a brick, stone, and wood structure with a double-eaved Xieshan-style two-story pavilion. Covering an area of 520 square meters with a building area of 276 square meters, it is well-preserved to this day. The Baozhu Tower city tower, located at the southwest extension of South Main Street, was built in the 40th year of the Jiajing era of the Ming Dynasty. The city gate faces north to south and is a double gate, connected in the middle by a horse trough. The city tower is a single-layer double-eaved Xieshan-style pavilion, covering an area of 876 square meters. Historically, the Red Fourth Army first entered Fujian through the Baozhu Gate, liberating Changting City, which has historical significance. The ancient Baozhu Gate, Guangchu Gate, and others are relatively rare in ancient state capital city walls. After surviving the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, the city walls and gates are still well-preserved to this day. The streets of South Main Street are paved with cobblestones, weathered by thousands of years of wind and rain. They still maintain their original appearance, and walking on these quaint traditional streets, imagining the horse trough inside the Baozhu city gate, one can almost hear the bell sounds of ancient mule and horse carts passing by, experiencing the echoes of history. Sanyuan Pavilion