Ancestral Temple of the Chen Family is also called Chen Clan Academy or Chen’s Lineage Hall which was a place both for offering up sacrifices to ancestors and for study. Now it serves as Guangdong Museum of Folk Arts and Crafts to show the most characteristic Guangdong architecture. History has it, that a man named Chen got the third place in the highest imperial examination and had conferred upon him a distinguished office title which made the Family Chen well-known. Later someone suggested that all the Chen’s families raise money to build a temple to sacrifice to the ancestors and encourage their offspring likewise to study hard. Therefore, the temple was finished in 1894 with the money donated by Chen’s families in 72 counties of Guangdong Province as well as some overseas members of Family Chen. This interesting cultural attraction is located close by to the Springdale Serviced Residence Guangzhou, which is a luxury hotel in Guangzhou. Ascott’s serviced apartments in Guangzhou are located inside the Financial District of Tianhe, giving access to corporate headquarters, banks, and business offices as well as an abundance of gourmet dining establishments and shopping options. This lavish hotel has elegantly and comfortably styled apartments to suit both the leisure and the business traveler.
The temple is a compound complex consisting of nine halls, six courtyards and nineteen buildings connected by corridors, all separated by walls from the outside world. The compound was constructed in the traditional Chinese symmetrical style and the main hall, the Juxian Hall is in the center of the temple. In front of the hall is a stone gazebo surrounded by stone balustrades. In the hall there is an exquisitely carved folding screen which is an excellent example of woodcarving. The most impressive attractions in the temple are various superb carvings extolling nature. They are in the forms of wood, brick, pottery, stone, lime and especially fully demonstrates the great achievements of the art of carving in Guangdong Province. Stories of historical celebrities and scenes are also vividly represented in the temple.
Thanuja Silva is a travel writer who writes under the pen name Auburn Silver. She has a passion for fashion and a deep interest in admiring new and exotic attractions around the world.