The Shentu Family Ancestral Hall in Shen'ao Village, Tonglu, Zhejiang

Youxu Hall is the Shentu Family Ancestral Hall in Shen'ao Village. According to the Shentu Family Genealogy, the original construction date is unknown. It was rebuilt in the sixth year of the Zhengtong reign of the Ming Dynasty, destroyed by war at the end of the Ming Dynasty, rebuilt during the Kangxi and Zhao reigns of the Qing Dynasty, renovated in the thirteenth year of the Qianlong reign, and renovated again in the tenth year of the Daoguang reign. Severely damaged by war from the Xianfeng to Tongzhi reigns, it was rebuilt again in the ninth year of the Tongzhi reign. The current structure was repaired and expanded in the third year of the Republic of China, with wooden pillars replaced by square stone pillars. After liberation, it was used as a school. In the late 1970s, the first hall was demolished, leaving the remaining two halls. The ancestral hall faces west and covers an area of 920 square meters. It features a brick and wood structure, five bays and three halls, a Guanyin dou screen wall, and a double-sloped gable roof. The second hall has a facade of 16.6 meters, with nine purlins and four pillars in the main bay. The roof is covered with boarding. The main pillars are round stone pillars, while the front and rear step columns are square stone pillars. There are no side pillars in the secondary bays. The courtyard of the third hall is paved with stone slabs, and two-story corridors are built on both sides. The third hall is 1.0 meter higher than the second hall, with nine purlins and four pillars in the main bay, and five frames inside the front and rear double steps, all using square stone pillars. The stone pillars were originally inscribed with couplets by Qing Dynasty calligrapher Dong Hao, but these were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. The hall was renovated again in 2011.