Dongshengwei - Historic Hakka Tulou in Anyuan County

Dongshengwei is located in Laowei Village, Zhengang Township, 20 kilometers south of Anyuan County, and was built by a local […]

Dongshengwei is located in Laowei Village, Zhengang Township, 20 kilometers south of Anyuan County, and was built by a local tycoon, Chen Langting. Construction began in the 22nd year of the Daoguang Emperor (1842) and was completed in the seventh year of the Tongzhi Emperor (1868). Dongshengwei is a quintessential representative of the enclosed residential buildings in southern Jiangxi. Its all-brick outer walls, cobblestone pavements inside the enclosure, and unique solid watchtowers are exclusive to Hakka residential buildings, making it an indispensable important material for studying the types of residential buildings in southern Jiangxi.
Dongshengwei, facing east and west, is rectangular in shape, consisting of an enclosed residential building and a gate courtyard, covering a total area of approximately 9270 square meters. The residential building is composed of a four-story main facade, three-story buildings on the east, south, and north sides, and watchtowers at the four corners, with seven arched gates lined up on the main facade, and the central gate inlaid with brick carvings of the three regular script characters ‘Dongshengwei’.

The first and second floors are inlaid with stone bucket windows, with outer walls 1.3 meters thick, using the ‘gold wrapped in silver’ wall construction method, with the outer layer built with blue bricks and the inner layer with soil bricks, and the top layer is a corridor encircling the entire enclosure, commonly known as the ‘horse-riding building’. The outer walls and watchtowers of the residential building are all built with blue bricks in a hard mountain style.

Inside the enclosure, there are 199 two-story soil brick houses, centered on three main halls, forming a grand architectural complex of ‘nine wells and eighteen halls’. The main halls are built magnificently, with beam-lifting roof structures, and the brackets, screens, and wooden windows are all finely carved with dragons, animals, flowers, and historical story figures. The outer gate is a brick structure with four pillars, three rooms, and three floors, in the style of a memorial archway gate building, with the gate beam in regular script ‘ever-changing scenery’.

Opening hours: 08:30-17:30 all year round.

Preferential policies: Children: under 1.2 meters (inclusive) are free; between 1.2 meters (exclusive) and 1.5 meters (inclusive) are half price. Elderly: over 65 years old (inclusive) with valid ID are free; between 60 years old (inclusive) and 65 years old (exclusive) with valid ID are half price. Students: students with valid documents are half price. Anyuan County residents: with valid ID are half price.

Moral models and preferential treatment objects: citizens with a moral model courtesy card issued by the Jiangxi Provincial Civilization Committee and preferential treatment objects with valid documents and ID are free. Residents of Zhengang Township, Anyuan County: with ID are free. Journalists, tour guides, and team leaders: with press cards, tour guide cards, and team leader cards are free. Military personnel: active military personnel, disabled military personnel, and retired military cadres with valid documents are free.

Disabled people: with disability certificates are free.

Service facilities: Parking lot: [Dongshengwei Scenic Area Parking Lot] Reference price: small cars 10 yuan/vehicle/time; medium cars 15 yuan/vehicle/time; large cars 20 yuan/vehicle/time; Address: Dongshengwei Scenic Area Parking Lot; small cars are below 9 seats; medium cars are 10-19 seats; large cars are above 20 seats.