You Must Visit the Carved Flower Building

With nothing to do today, I came to the Kou'an Carved Flower Building for a visit. As a native of Taizhou, I had never been here before. I heard there are a total of 4 attractions in the nearby Chai Xu Ancient Town, one of which is a provincial-level cultural heritage protection unit, and the other three are city-level ones. This complex consists of a building and garden at the back, and three rows of single-story houses at the front. First, let's look at the gate. To enhance its grandeur, an eight-character wall has been built here. This style of eight-character wall was typically used at the entrances of wealthy families or government offices in ancient times. The brick archway is carved with an unbroken pattern of ancient swastikas. The main gate adopts the local higher-grade classical general's gate style, with door dang in the middle and door dui on both sides, meaning 'matching in social status and wealth.'

There are a total of 4 Carved Flower Buildings in Jiangsu Province, three of which are in Suzhou, and the other one is right here in our Taizhou. This root carving inside the pavilion is made from the root of a thousand-year-old ginkgo tree dug from deep in the mountains. It was meticulously carved by master craftsmen from the Dongyang Wood Carving Factory in Zhejiang over more than a year. The highly skilled artisans discovered that within the ancient ginkgo root lay hidden nine dragons. They carefully removed the excess root material around the dragons, and the vividly lifelike nine dragons were revealed before us.

The Sun Family Square Building is the former residence of Mr. Sun Gongfu, one of the founders of Kou'an Middle School. It was built in the late Qing Dynasty. In the front hall of the Chinese Cultural Enlightenment Center, there are several lifelike figures made of silicone, with a very high degree of realism. This is a simulated scene of a private school teacher giving a lecture in ancient times. The surrounding corridors on the upper floor feature European-style cast iron railings, products of the Westernization Movement era in the Qing Dynasty.

The Qi family was one of the four major surnames in old Kou'an. Their family was wealthy and virtuous, producing many wise and virtuous generations. In the past, Qingyuan West Street was the most prosperous commercial street in old Kou'an, and half of it was owned by them, hence the nickname 'Qi Half Street.' The Qi Family Jinshi Mansion was built after Qi Shiguang achieved the Jinshi degree during the Tianqi era of the Ming Dynasty. It has a history of over 400 years and is a well-preserved Ming Dynasty building in Gaogang.