Pingyuan Renju Ancient Village in Guangdong

Renju Ancient Village was once known as Haoju. In the 38th year of the Jiajing era of the Ming Dynasty (1559), a tribunal was established in the Haoju Linying Camp to suppress bandits, and additional troops were stationed and an earthen city was built. In the 41st year of the Jiajing era (1562), the earthen city was expanded, and Pingyuan County was established, with the county seat located here, later renamed Renju, meaning 'the dwelling of benevolent people'. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the main marketplace of Pingyuan County was set up on the street in front of the county, with Renju as the center, and roads extending in all directions. There are still several ancient roads such as Guanshui Pond, Xianning Street, and Old East Gate Street. For 390 years until 1952, it was the seat of Pingyuan County. In November 1929 and May 1930, during the war of resistance, the Fourth Red Army established a revolutionary government and was stationed in Pingyuan. To avoid the chaos of war, in 1945, the Guangdong Provincial Government relocated here. The village has many buildings that were constructed during the Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, mainly Hakka enclosed dragon houses. There are 21 complete Hakka enclosed dragon houses, each covering an area of 1000-3000 square meters. The cultural ecology of the ancient village is well preserved, with residences, ancestral halls, shops, ancient trees, wells, alleys, and gate towers integrated into one, forming a cultural landscape with Hakka characteristics. There is one provincial-level cultural relics protection unit and four county-level cultural relics protection units; there are also historical buildings of high value such as the Wu House, the former site of the vaults of the four major banks of Guangdong Province during the war of resistance, Zhenwu Bridge, Scholar Bridge, the ruins of the ancient city wall, Han Family Ancestral Hall, Li Family Ancestral Hall, Yang Family Ancestral Hall, Lin Family Ancestral Hall, Xie House, Yang House, and Tu House.