Huaiyuan Lou

2021-07-19 17:38:50

Huaiyuan Lou

Huaiyuan Lou

Huaiyuan Lou locates in Kanxia Village, Meilin Town, Nanjing County. It is a double annular building which was built in the first year under Emperor Xuantong’s reign of the Qing Dynasty (1909). It sits in the north and faces to the south. It covers an area of 1,130 square meters and the construction area of 4,520 square meters. The foundation was built with giant cobblestones and trinity mixture fills, more than 3 meters high. The wall is still smooth without any peeling-off till now. Huaiyuan Lou is the best -preserved double annular Tulou with the most cultural connotations among all the circular earth buildings in Nanjing. It is also the representative of circular building with a corridor to connect all rooms on each floor. Huaiyuan Lou has a complete defense function. There are four types of defense systems on the outer ring of the building for anti-theft, anti-bandit, fire-proof and waterproof purposes. The most eye-catching feature of this building is the ancestral hall at the core of the inner courtyard and the private school named "Sishi Room" where the family's children study. The building has a strong cultural atmosphere. This building has combined all the architectural achievements of Fujian Tulou and Confucian culture perfectly. It stands as a testament to many important historical events in modern China and reflects the history of how the ancestors of Tulou residents advocated culture and wisdom. In 2006, it was included into the sixth group of major cultural heritage sites protected at the national level.