Located at the foot of Meihua Mountain in the new urban administrative construction area of Mei County District, Meizhou City, the ‘Ji Ji Building’ (under the jurisdiction of Che Shang Village, Chengjiang Town) is a large-scale Hakka residential mansion that covers a vast area.
It was constructed by Chen Jixuan, the founder of ‘Chen Fuyuan Exchange Firm’, a wealthy merchant in Mei County District during the 1920s, who started the construction in 1936, taking 10 years to complete, and was finally inaugurated in 1946. The ‘Ji Ji Building’ covers a total area of 15,435 square meters, with a construction area of approximately 10,080 square meters. It is a large two-story residential building with three main halls, six side buildings, and a pillow beam, surrounded by walls. It is commonly known as ‘Nine Halls and Eighteen Wells’, with 218.5 rooms in total. If one were to close and open all the windows and doors in the house, it would take a whole day. This residential building is composed of three main halls and six side buildings in a two-story structure. It features a front rice field, a pond, a fruit tree garden at the back, and is laid out along a central axis with three main halls divided into upper, middle, and lower sections. Each hall has symmetrical side rooms on the left and right, and there are six wells in total, with the upper left and right wells featuring small goldfish ponds, rockeries, and large flower pots as accessories. There are six side buildings on the left and right, each with two wells, a hall, and a corridor on both the upper and lower levels. The back pillow beam resembles a quadrangle, with a garden in the middle, and additional miscellaneous buildings and three drying rooms on the right side and the right side of the front rice field, referred to as the ‘Auxiliary Beam’. The architecture is very exquisite, featuring various characteristics of residential buildings. In the upper hall of the ‘Ji Ji Building’, there is an inscribed couplet. It reads, ‘It is not easy to create, I am glad that the hall is completed, and the swallow’s wings and the plan for the world’s benefit are continuous; I wish the descendants to continue and carry on the great plan, to expand and enhance the family’s reputation.’ This couplet was written by Chen Zonghai, the principal of Xishan Public School, at the time of the building’s completion. The building is open all year round from 8:00 to 20:00.Ji Ji Building
Located at the foot of Meihua Mountain in the new urban administrative construction area of Mei Coun[...]
