Chen Chi Hong Residence, Chang Hai

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.

Han Wen Gong Temple, Chaozhou, China

This is the oldest temple in the Chaozhou area built to commemorate the famed writer Han Yu from the Tang Dynasty.Below is a diagram of the huge area in which the temple is located. There are steps out in the open, going upwards till the highest point which is where the temple is.

His thoughts advocating good deeds are portrayed in a series of calligraphy along the covered walkways leading uphill to the temple which houses a large statue of him.

There is also a garden which has lovely plants and statues.

There is a huge statue of Han Yu in the temple at the top of the hill.

There is also a bust of him in the garden.

At the entrance leading to the temple grounds is a huge sculpture of a book on which is engraved his words of wisdom.

Xiangzi Bridge, ChaoZhou, Guandong Province, China

This is a very beautiful ancient bridge that was built to collect toll on users of the river, believed to be the first of its kind in the world.Below is a photo of a diagram of the bridge.

Where London Bridge can open in the middle to allow ships that have a height greater than the middle span of the bridge, this Xiangzi Bridge did not have such technology then.

What it did was most ingenious, reflecting the innovativeness of the people of long ago.

The bridge is beautifully constructed with typical Chinese architecture but in the middle several small boats were chained together, forming a barrier that prevented any boat from going upstream or downstream.

The picture below shows the entrance to the Xiangzi Bridge.

A toll had to be paid before the boats were unchained and moved aside so that the boat could pass through. Once the boat had passed, these boats were chained together to form a barrier across the river once more.