Prince Shi Li Shixian was an important general in the later period of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. After capturing Jinhua in 1861, he established the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom’s Zhejiang base centered on Jinhua. The Prince Shi’s Residence was his command center in Zhejiang at that time. The Prince Shi’s Residence is an art treasure trove of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. There are many murals and colored paintings, exceeding the total number of murals and colored paintings preserved at Taiping Heavenly Kingdom sites across the country. It not only has high artistic value but also is precious material for studying the revolutionary history of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The entire palace is composed of four parts: palace, residence, garden, and logistics. It is adjacent to a wide training ground, covering a total area of more than 63,000 square meters. The existing building area is more than 3,000 square meters and is divided into east and west courtyards. The east courtyard takes the main hall as the main body. In front of it is the only screen wall left over from the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to this day. The main hall was the meeting hall for the leaders of the Taiping Army back then. All walls and beams are painted with various murals and colored paintings, which are very magnificent. The west courtyard is mainly residential buildings, with four entrances. There is a long corridor between the first and second entrances, forming a shape like the Chinese character ‘工’. This is the same as the main hall and the second hall in the east courtyard being composed of a lobby to form a shape like the Chinese character ‘工’. It is a major feature in the architecture of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom’s palaces. The walls and dye racks of these four entrances are full of murals and colored paintings, such as ‘Woodcutter Removing a Thorn Picture’, ‘Four Seasons Fishing Picture’, and ‘Watchtower Barracks Picture’. The two ancient cypresses several tens of feet tall in front of the Nahanxuan are said to have been planted by Qian Liu, the king of Wuyue in the Five Dynasties. After more than 1,100 years, their trunks are tilted but not fallen, and their branches and leaves point straight to the sky. Therefore, they are hailed as ‘living cultural relics’. Opening hours: Closed all day on Mondays throughout the year; Open from 09:30 to 16:00 from Tuesdays to Sundays throughout the year. Must-see tips: Visit with an ID card.
Prince Shi’s Residence Memorial Hall of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom
Prince Shi Li Shixian was an important general in the later period of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. [...]
