Xiguan big house is a traditional residence with Lingnan characteristics built by wealthy businessmen in Xiguanjiao (now Liwan District) in western Guangzhou in the late Qing Dynasty. It's called "xiguan big house". Xiguan has become the commercial center of Guangzhou City in the Ming Dynasty, and the 18th National Congress gradually took shape in the Ming Dynasty. Xiguanjiao was formed during Tongzhi and Guangxu periods in Qing Dynasty, covering Wenchang Bridge, Daguan Bridge, Pantang and Changyuan Garden. Xiguan big house is concentrated in Bao Hua Road, Duobao Road, Baoyuan Road and Fengyuan Road. Later, it was extended to other areas in Xiguan, mostly built by famous families and bureaucratic giants.
Xiguan big house is mostly a brick-wood structure, with green masonry feet and granite embedded in the front door. Its plane layout is basically developed in the depth direction according to the traditional main hall form of the Central Plains. Its typical plane is three rooms and two corridors; Symmetrical left and right, with the main hall in the center. From front to back, and from south to north, the central axis is porch, entrance hall (gate hall), sedan chair hall (tea hall), main hall (hall or shrine hall), head hall (elders hall), patio, second hall (dining hall) and second hall (tail hall). Each hall is an entrance. Generally, a big house has two or three entrances, forming many central axes. The study and yard are located on the left and right of the front of the room respectively.
Square and guest room. The guest room has a flat roof, which is used for enjoying the cool in Xiguan Tanabata, enjoying the moon and visiting Yue Bai (Seventh Sister). Behind the slant hall and guest room are bedrooms, kitchens, etc. Flowers and trees are planted in the park, and a rockery fish pond is built, which is quite elegant and quiet.
The entrance of xiguan big house is decorated with three doors, namely, low hanging door (also called foot door), tripping door and hard wooden door. The railing is a movable fence, which is made of 13 or 15 hardwood (usually mahogany or hardwood), so it is called a railing. Foot doors and walkways have ventilation and safety functions, and are specially made building components to adapt to the hot and rainy climate in Lingnan. The gate of xiguan big house is made of high-grade wood such as mahogany or camphor wood, with a thickness of about 8 cm. The door is fastened with a copper ring, and the foot of the door is hidden in a stone mortar. The door is locked with a horizontal bolt behind the door to prevent thieves.
In the foyer (foyer), there are the Heavenly Palace and the God of the Earth, followed by four middle doors, which are usually closed and only opened when guests come to visit in sedan chairs to show their grand welcome. Leave only the left and right doors in and out, so that passers-by can't see the scene inside. The car lobby is where guests and car owners get in and out of the car.
The hall is the main building of the big house, with the largest area and the highest roof. The red buildings (main beams painted red) in the whole hall are spacious and magnificent, with black alder (wood corners painted black) and white tiles (lining tiles painted white). In order to make the hall brighter, the roof is covered with tiles, that is, glass tiles.
Behind the main hall is the head room (or the elders' room), where the elders live, with high windows for lighting.
Behind the first room is the second hall (dining room) and the second room (for married couples). The second room, also known as Weifang, is the last room on the central axis.
There is a small courtyard between the hall and the hall. The courtyard is covered with a shed and the high side window is ventilated. On both sides of the central axis, there are mainly study rooms, slant halls, bedrooms and stairwells, which are generally arranged symmetrically. There is usually a small courtyard on the right side of the hall, where precious flowers and trees are planted and rocks, landscapes, fish oil or lotus ponds are arranged for the owner or tourists to enjoy. There is a Qingyun lane on each side of the big house, which means "to the top". Qingyun Lane, also known as cold lane, fire lane and water lane, etc. , with transportation (wife or servant in and out), ventilation, lighting, drainage, sunbathing, planting flowers, removing feces and garbage and other functions.
The facade of xiguan big house is equipped with low hanging doors, rafters and hard wooden doors. Elegant interior decoration is a masterpiece of arts and crafts. Wood and stone brick carvings, pottery gray sculptures, murals and stone scenes, glass and iron leaks, clear windows, carved patterns, mahogany furniture, wood carvings and sills are all full of Lingnan charm and style.
Xiguan big house is a treasure of traditional architecture in Guangzhou. According to statistics, there are more than 100 buildings, among which there are more than 10 buildings with reserved value. The most famous xiguan big house is "Liang Zi Zhengdi" located at Baoyuan North Street 18, Deng Gong Baodi in Duobao Road and Zhongjia Garden in the middle of Bao Hua Road. Unfortunately, most of these famous gardens and mansions have long since disappeared. Now the only famous house left is the small painting workshop.
Xiaohuafangzhai, located on the bank of Litchi Bay, was built in 1902 (Guangxu period of Qing Dynasty). It is a circular garden-like xiguan big house, surrounded by buildings and with a garden in the middle. The building is exquisite and elegant, with lush flowers and trees, and the overall structure has a strong Lingnan architectural charm. The main entrance is in Sanlian straight street, south; The back door is on Fengyuan Street, heading north. Su Ruohu, a calligrapher in the late Qing Dynasty, wrote the word "small painting workshop". The whole building of Xiaohuafangzhai, with white granite feet and polished walls of "Dongguan Blue Brick", is smooth and bright.
The main entrance is a large screen composed of wood carving and stone carving, safflower and glass. Behind the screen is the hall and in front is an east-west corridor. There is a semi-pavilion in the corridor, which is called "Poetry Pavilion". To the west is the "boat hall", which is boat-shaped, hence the name of the small painting Fang Zhai. There is also a woodcut banner inscribed by Ruan Yuan, "White Pond, Li Hongpan and Tangxi". The side facing Liwan Chung is full of etched blue glass. There is a "home temple" (ancestral temple) dedicated to the ancestors of the Huang family in the north.