This beautiful ancient mansion is a blend of eastern and western architecture. Commissioned in 1901 it has never been completed and now stands in isolated splendor in a remote village. It belonged to a gentleman called Chen Chi Hong and is known as the Chen Chi Hong Residence.
We had to drive through rough country roads, churning up dust as we passed plots of bananas, sugarcane, vegetables and other crops before arriving at this lovely mansion. It actually comprises four residences in a combination of western and classic Chinese style. It has never been lived in as it was never completed but now it has become a museum. Most of the rooms are empty. There are in total 506 rooms, quite mind boggling.Below is a diagram of the mansion.
The windows are different in each residence, so too the stairs and floors which had lovely tile designs.
One of the rooms showcases a chaoshan bridal chamber. There is also a sedan chair which was used to carry a bride. Red is an auspicious color for weddings.
( front view )
(Side view of the Sedan chair)
The spacious central courtyard has some old relics and a number of bonsai plants.
There are also vegetable gardens outside the main perimeter of the mansion, most likely grown by the caretakers.
No comments:
Post a Comment