"There were the royal palaces in Beijing, and residential houses in Chaozhou"- a popular saying in the Chaozhou-Shantou region of South China's Guangdong Province, best epitomizes the unique architectural style and characteristics of the residential buildings there, which were built in the mode of the royal palaces and compare well with them.

The saying refers to the residential buildings' architectural scale and layout, both of which bear much similarity to those of the royal palaces. Known as the home for overseas Chinese, the Chaozhou-Shantou region is both economically developed and culturally cultivated. The people there, with a deep-seated clan mentality, usually have big families, which is also reflected in their residential houses. Most families, especially rich ones, attach great importance to having a magnificent housing complex, where the whole clan family can live together.

The layout of Chaozhou-Shantou's residential buildings vary a lot, to which the local people have given such vivid names as "Si Dian Jin" (Four Dots of Gold), "Xia Shan Hu" (Downhill Tiger), and "Si Ma Tuo Che" (Four-hose Driven Wagon).

In the case of Si Dian Jin buildings, two bedrooms are built symmetrically on the each side of the "entrance hall-courtyard-exit hall" axis. In this way, the two halls and two bedrooms take up the four corners of the whole architectural complex, hence, the name Si Dian Jin. Just like the courtyard buildings in Beijing, the Si Dian Jin layout follows the style of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), and there is a beautiful folktale concerning its birth.

Page:

1

2

3

All rights reserved. Reproduction of text for non-commercial purposes is permitted provided that both the source and author are acknowledged and a notifying email is sent to us.