Huizhou ancient city, Shexian County

A place of utter devotion in life, where dreams of Huizhou arrive without slumber. Huizhou ancient city is the birthplace of 'Huizhou Studies', one of the three major local schools of thought in China, and is acclaimed as 'the Southeastern Zou and Lu, a land of ceremonies and propriety'. Among the several gates of Huizhou ancient city, the Nanqiao Tower is the most distinctive. Thirteen pairs of columns form the gate frame, arranged in succession inside the gate hole, supporting the city tower. It is said that this 'row-column' structure is the authentic gate form of the Northern Song Dynasty. After entering the Dongqiao Tower (Yanghe Gate), you will see the Xu Guo Stone Archway, which is the essence of the entire ancient city, built in the twelfth year of the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty (AD 1584). The archway has eight columns, with a cross-section shaped like the character '口', forming a three-dimensional structure. The four outer and four inner sides can all be observed, with twelve stone lions sitting at the base of the columns, and the upper stone carvings are exquisitely beautiful. Currently, this is the only ancient archway of its kind, and the noble status of Xu Guo, a senior official through three dynasties, is evident. Many attractions in the ancient city radiate from the Xu Guo Stone Archway. To the west, you can visit the Huizhou Prefecture Yamen, which has been modernly restored to imitate the appearance of a Ming Dynasty yamen; to the east, you can visit the memorial hall of Tao Xingzhi, a native of Shexian County; To the north, you can visit Hui Garden, but all the buildings in Hui Garden are imitations of ancient architecture. Located in the northeastern part of the ancient city, Doushan Street gathers Huizhou-style ancient residences, archways, and ancient wells. Walking on the ancient streets paved with bluestone slabs and cobblestones is very tasteful. I went back to my hometown today! On the way back, I took a tour of Huizhou ancient city. There were many tourists and it was very lively. The calligraphy on the red banners had many fonts, rich meanings, and was very beautiful. Huizhou-style architecture is grand and distinctive. (Took lots of photos, the buildings are really beautiful!) Outside the gates of Huizhou, there are many statues of famous figures from Huizhou! (Bi Sheng, Liu Hezhen, Huang Binhong, Tao Xingzhi, Wang Maoyin...) However, the commercial atmosphere on the ancient street is too strong.