The Chen Clan Academy, commonly known as the Chen Clan Temple, is a national-level protected cultural heritage site, and houses the Guangdong Museum of Folk Arts. Construction of the Chen Clan Temple started in the 14th year of the reign of Emperor Guang Xu of the Qing Dynasty (1888) and was completed in the 20th year of the reign (1894). Located beyond the western gate of the town of Guangzhou in the Qing Dynasty, it was a shared clan temple built with donations from Chen clan members in 72 counties in Guangdong Province. The Chen Clan Academy features an architectural style typical of ancestral halls in Lingnan. It's the largest, most sumptuously decorated and best preserved traditional structure in Guangdong Province, dubbed the gem of Lingnan artistic architecture.
The Chen Clan Academy is a conglomeration of Guangdong's folk architectural styles and features an ingenious application of decorative arts, such as wood, brick and stone carvings, lime-clay mixtures, pottery sculptures, iron castings, and paintings, all of which are masterpieces of folk arts with different themes, vivid designs, rich colors, and consummate workmanship.
In 1959, the People's Government converted the Chen Clan Academy
into the Guangdong Museum of Folk Arts, which collects, studies and displays folk handicrafts made in Guangdong and the rest of the country during the bygone dynasties. The museum showcases scores of different types of valuable artifacts and handicrafts, such as pottery, embroidery and sculptures, which reflect Lingnan's folk customs. These exhibits contain a high value for research and appreciation.
※ Exhibition: Chen Clan Academy (commonly known as Chen Clan Temple), and thematic exhibitions on pottery, embroidery, and sculptures
※ Scale: Floor area 2,000m2
※ Address: Chen Clan Ancestral Hall (chen jia ci), Zhongshanqi Road, Guangzhou
※ Opening Hours: 8:30-17:30
※ Admission: RMB 10
※ Tel: 81814559; 81819653
※ Fax: 81705098
※ Transportation:
· Metro: Line 1 and get off at the Chen Clan Temple station.
· Bus: take Bus No. 104, 107, 109, 85, 88, 114, 128, 133, 181, 193, 204, 233, 250, 251, 260, 268 or 286
(Translated by Guangzhou Association of Foreign Affairs Translators)
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