De'anli, a century-old mansion complex
"De'anli, a century-old mansion complex"
Enter the ancient city of Hongyang, Puning, and see the century-old mansion complex - De'anli.
Taste the special snacks of the ancient city.
De'anli is located in Nancun, Hongyang Town, Gucheng, Puning City, Guangdong Province. It is a family village built by Fang Yao, a famous admiral of the Guangdong Navy in the late Qing Dynasty, and his brothers. It is the largest, most complete and longest-standing giant mansion-style building complex in Chaoshan area. It is also a rare mansion-style ancient village in China.
De'anli was first built in the tenth year of Tongzhi (1871 AD) and completed in the sixteenth year of Guangxu. It has a history of more than 140 years. The entire De'anli is divided into three parts: "Old Village", "Middle Village" and "New Village", covering an area of 63,000 square meters and a construction area of 32,000 square meters. There are living rooms, ancestral halls, Buddhist halls, studies, bedrooms, dining rooms, storehouses, attics, gatehouses in the village. There are also squares in front of the village, back gardens, lotus ponds, village gates, and walls. There is a river outside the walls to protect the village. There are a total of 773 houses. The entire building is a unique masterpiece of architectural art due to its large scale, exquisite construction and beautiful shape.
Architectural style
The architecture of De'anli is a collection of Chaoshan residential buildings: large ancestral hall, three-hall, five-room corridor, four-point gold, descending tiger, four-horse trailer, five-wall couplet, one-legged lion, etc. Architectural forms that are rare or unseen in Chaoshan can be seen here.
The entire architectural complex of De'anli is composed of three parts that are organically connected. Each part is an independent, complete and distinctive architectural complex, one group is "Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix" and two groups are "Four Horses Drawing a Carriage". Each group contains multiple independent structures, each with its own characteristics and organically connected buildings.
The old and middle villages of De'anli face east, while the new village faces south. The architectural layout of the old village is "a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix", while the architectural layout of the middle and new villages is "a four-horse cart". The architectural style retains the typical Chaoshan village characteristics of the late Qing Dynasty, and there are Western-style buildings in the village, which is a combination of inheritance and development.
Although De'anli has undergone tremendous changes, the overall architecture is relatively well preserved. Its large scale, exquisite construction, complete styles and beautiful shape can be regarded as a wonder of Chaoshan architectural art. With its rare architectural layout and unique design style, it has been included in the civil architecture textbook of the Department of Architecture of South China University of Technology.
Today, De'anli is attracting widespread social attention with its distinctive architectural features, profound cultural heritage and unique folk customs. In order to enhance the cultural and tourism level of the ancient village, the De'anli Cultural Relics Protection and Management Office is equipped with special tour guides to help tourists gain a deeper understanding of the historical and cultural connotations of the ancient village. It also cooperates with the Puning Collectors Association and other organizations to introduce various forms of art exhibitions such as ceramics and weapons, greatly enriching the tourists' tour experience. It also opened an "antique market" (every Saturday is a market day), attracting many tourists from near and far to come and exchange ideas, making De'anli a gathering place for antique lovers.