Huguang Guild Hall Ticket

Description

The Huguang Guild Hall was first built in the 24th year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty (1759). It served as a gathering place for merchants from Hubei and Hunan provinces doing business in Chongqing. Together with the Guangdong Guild Hall and the Jiangnan Guild Hall, it formed a massive ancient Huguang Guild Hall architectural complex of the Qing Dynasty. It is a historical testament to Chongqing's history as a bustling commercial port and a hallmark of the "Huguang Filling Sichuan" immigration movement. Covering an area of 8561 square meters, the Chongqing Huguang Guild Hall architectural complex is a historical product of the "Huguang Filling Sichuan" immigration wave. It was initially built during the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty and was expanded during the Jiaqing, Daoguang, and Guangxu reigns. With a history of nearly 300 years, it is currently the largest Qing Dynasty guild hall architectural complex in the country. It currently houses the Guangdong Guild Hall, Jiangnan Guild Hall, Lianghu Guild Hall, Jiangxi Guild Hall, and four opera houses, including the Guangdong Public Office and the Qi'an Public Office. The guild hall's architecture features exquisite relief and openwork carvings, with themes primarily based on figures and stories from Journey to the West, Romance of the Western Chamber, Investiture of the Gods, and The Twenty-four Filial Exemplars, as well as patterns of dragons and phoenixes, animals, and various exotic flowers and grasses. It is representative of Southern architectural art during the Ming and Qing Dynasties in China.