Tangyue Memorial Archways

棠樾牌坊群

Seven Ming and Qing memorial archways lined up at the entrance of the Bao clan's village of Tangyue, honoring loyalty, filial piety, chastity and righteousness; China's largest surviving group of memorial archways.

The Tangyue Memorial Archways stand at the entrance to Tangyue Village in Zhengcun Town, Shexian County. Seven archways line the approach, three from the Ming dynasty and four from the Qing, arranged symmetrically in the order “loyalty, filial piety, chastity, righteousness, chastity, filial piety, loyalty.” All were built by the Bao family and are listed as a National Key Cultural Relic. Beside them are the Bao clan's branch ancestral hall, Dunben Hall, and Qingyi Hall, a rare women's ancestral hall in China. The Bao Family Garden (a Huizhou-style penjing garden) has been rebuilt on the site of the original family garden. Tickets: a combined ticket for the archways and the garden costs about 100 yuan; the archways alone cost about 70 yuan, and the garden is optional depending on your interest. Highlights include the Ming-era Cixiao Li Archway, the Bao Can Filial Conduct Archway and the Qing-era Leshan Haoshi Archway, bestowed by the Qianlong Emperor. The bracket sets, corbels and inscription carvings on the archways are finely crafted, and in spring, when the rapeseed flowers bloom in front of the archways, it is a classic photo spot. Allow 1–1.5 hours, or add another hour for the Bao Family Garden. Getting there: Tunxi city center is about 25 km and 40 minutes away, and Shexian town is about 10 minutes away. It can be combined with Huizhou Ancient City and the Xin'an River Landscape Gallery for a day trip to Shexian; buses from Tunxi serve the area. Note: the archways are fully exposed to the sun, so bring sun protection in summer. Tour groups arrive in the morning, and it is quieter in the afternoon.

Tangyue Memorial Archways

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