In ancient times, the residential buildings in Chaozhou-Shantou region were either brick houses or thatched cottages. During the Reign of Jiaqing Emperor, a relative of the royal family called Chen Huang, who was from today's Chaoyang of Guangdong Province, went to Beijing, the then capital, and saw many courtyard houses there.

One day, when he was paying his respect to the emperor, a thunderstorm stroke. Frightened, Chen went to hide under the table. Upon seeing this, the emperor asked why he did this.

Chen answered, "Back in Chaozhou and Shantou counties, the houses are built with clay and straw. When it rains, people often hide under the table so they won't get wet."

He also expressed his wishes to have courtyard houses built in his hometown. The emperor agreed without hesitation, and ordered that residential houses be built in Chaozhou according to the layout of Beijing's courtyard buildings. That's how Chaozhou's Si Dian Jin buildings came into being.

Xia Shan Hu houses are mostly found in the countryside and are smaller in scale compared with Si Dian Jin houses.

In houses with a Si Ma Tuo Che layout, there are three halls and two courtyards, which combined form the so- called "Che" (wagon).; Two Si Dian Jin houses, which can be found in a row on each side of the "wagon," are called "Ma" (horse), hence the name of Si Ma Tuo Che (Four-horse-driven Wagon). Houses of this type are usually built by rich families.

Houses of any of the above types are well and richly decorated, which is another similarity to the royal palaces. The locals pay great attention to the decoration of the arched gateway, the building's front and the hall. Sandalwood furniture inside the house is invariably painted red, and the rafters (sloping beams forming the roof's base), blue. Wooden and stone carvings can be found among interior decorations, together with lacquer paintings and mosaic ceramics.

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