Home | Tourist Information | Hotel Reservation | Tour Package | Term & Condition | Reservation Status | About Us | Contact us
Shanshan'gan Guild Hall
Province:

Henan

City:

Kaifeng

The Shanshangan Guild Hall is the most luxuriously built building of its kind in Kaifeng. The hall is a perfect example of Qing dynasty (1644-1911 AD) architecture, and was co-built by merchants from Shanxi, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces as a business club.

The guild hall has the structure of a temple, with the Main Hall flanked by minor halls and fronted by the Drum and Bell Towers. The wood carving and sculptured brick roofs are the highlight of these halls. Unlike such art pieces widely seen in Chinese Buddhist temples, however, these carvings and sculptures are themed more after merchant's preferences, including images like the harvesting, the god of money, symbols of luck, people riding horses and making celebrations.

This is not the only reason to visit this monument to the past, however. Other highlights include a Spirit Wall, a model of the old Song Dynasty city set next to a representation of the modern town, and halls all decorated with elegant traditional paintings and furniture. The Guild Hall is a combination of the arts of architecture, carving, sculpting, painting and lacquering and is worth a visit.