Trip Moments Recommendations

China's First Guild Hall (Sheqi)

These days, it's not uncommon to see various 'firsts' being used to attract attention and customers, such as the 'first yamen' I saw yesterday. I didn't have high hopes when I came here, but I found out that they weren't just boasting, they were really impressive. Before praising, let me give a pitfall reminder. There are two types of tickets, combined and single. The single ticket for the Shanxi-Shaanxi Guild Hall is 40, and the combined ticket is 72. But the other attractions are too weak, except for the Fire God Temple, which is barely worth a look. The others are basically a waste of time even if they're free. Fortunately, the attractions are all very concentrated, otherwise it would be depressing to walk around for half a day and see nothing. It's better to focus on visiting the Shanxi-Shaanxi Guild Hall. The reason why it's called the 'first guild hall' is firstly because of its large size and area. I've been to the Shanxi-Shaanxi Guild Halls in Bozhou, Liaocheng, Zhoukou and other places. Although each has its own merits in terms of detail, the one in Sheqi is more majestic and spectacular, whether in terms of individual buildings or overall scale. Secondly, what's commendable is that such a large and beautifully decorated building is well preserved. The main building is distributed along the central axis from south to north, consisting of four parts: the glazed wall, the hanging mirror tower, the main hall, and the Spring and Autumn Tower. Except for the 'Spring and Autumn Tower' which was destroyed, the rest are well preserved. In addition, the huge and gorgeous 'Two Dragons Playing with a Pearl' relief wall is very spectacular. It's 20 meters high and 13 meters wide, made of colored glazed ceramic bricks, with hollowed-out dragon carvings and brilliant colors. This is something that other Shanxi-Shaanxi Guild Halls don't have. As for stone carvings, wood carvings, and iron flagpoles, these are standard features of the Shanxi-Shaanxi Guild Hall. Although each here is very exquisite, they don't have an overwhelming advantage over the other guild halls. At least in terms of the intricacy and preservation of the wood carvings, it's not as good as the Huaxi Tower in Bozhou, and the preservation of the stone archway is not as good as the Guandi Temple in Zhoukou. I won't go into details about the others. It's not that this place is bad, but that everyone is strong. Sheqi County, Nanyang City, Henan Province, is not well-known because it's relatively far from the high-speed rail and highway, but this guild hall is definitely king-level. The construction period of the Shanxi-Shaanxi Guild Halls in various places basically coincided with the last climax of the history of ancient Chinese architecture. At that time, merchants from all over the country had amassed a lot of money. Out of a desire to show off their strength and compete, a huge amount of money was invested in the construction of guild halls everywhere. The Sheqi Shanxi-Shaanxi Guild Hall took more than 130 years to build. The construction of the main hall and its auxiliary buildings alone cost more than 8.8 million taels of silver, which is nearly 1.8 billion at a 1:200 exchange rate. The total cost is estimated to be close to 5 billion, which is breathtaking and far ahead.

I traveled to Xichuan Jingziguan in Henan

This is the largest ancient architectural complex in Jingziguan, the Shan-Shaanxi Guild Hall, and it is also my first time entering the hall. Jingziguan Ancient Town is located in Xichuan County, Henan Province, more than 70 kilometers away from the county seat, at the junction of Henan, Hubei, and Shaanxi provinces, and is known as 'one foot stepping into three provinces.' It is famous for its well-preserved Ming and Qing ancient streets. The ancient street is located in the center of the town, with the south end being the gate. The Wei stele-style characters 'Jingziguan' on the gate lintel are vigorous and powerful. The bluestone column bases on both sides of the gate make it even more stable. Stepping through the gate, what comes into view is the ancient street running north to south. The street is more than two kilometers long, with the road surface all paved with bluestone slabs, flat and clean. There are more than 700 shops on both sides of the street, all in the style of Ming and Qing folk commercial architecture, with upturned eaves and carvings, ancient and quaint, mostly with a front shop and a backyard layout. The shops facing the street are inlaid with thick wooden black lacquered doors, which are pulled open during the day and closed at night, convenient for business. Pinglang Palace is located on the east side of the south street of Jingziguan, facing east to west, facing the Danjiang River, with a gray tile roof. A marble plaque is embedded above the door lintel, with the words 'Pinglang Palace' written horizontally. On the south side of the door is inscribed 'Wind Calm,' and on the north side 'Waves Quiet.' There is a side door on each side of the main gate tower, and outside the side doors are the bell tower and drum tower. The bell and drum towers have 'winged corners' that rise at the four corners, giving a sense of agility.

In ancient times, the wealthy businessmen in Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces, in order to promote the friendship of the countryside, the business situation, the official welcoming the official, the sacrifice of the gods for wealth, the accumulation of funds to build a lot of such Shanshan Hall. There is also a Shanshan Guild Hall on the bank of Dongchang Lake in Beifangji, but the hall with its size without a flag is spectacular. The most famous name in Nanyang Sheqi County is Shanshan Guild Hall, which is an ancient building complex that I have seen in all the halls with large area, large scale of construction and preservation of decorative art.