Lu Residential Complex
By admin on 2015-01-09

Lu Residential Complex 东阳卢宅 is one of the key historical and cultural sites under state-level protection in China. Located in downtown Dongyang, Jinhua City, Zhejiang Province, the great architectural complex has been the habitation for the Lu family since 800 years ago. It is well-known as the Imperial Palace in South China. It is composed of six groups of buildings. The residential complex is ancient, delicate, and magnificent, and the buildings inside dating from Ming & Qing Dynasties feature the typical Ming-Qing architectural style.

Most of the buildings including the main halls and the memorial archways survive man-made damage and natural disasters. But some of them were destroyed. Now the existing buildings take up a total area of about 30,000 sq meters. It occupies an entire street. And the main hall in the north of the street is called Suyong Hall. As a common hall shared by all the members of Lu family, it was the main body of the residential complex. It is elaborately decorated with carved beams, pillars and colorful paintings. On the windows and doors, there are varieties of woodcarving known as Dongyang Woodcarving. Each of them tells people a famous Chinese folktale. The famous flower lantern in the hall is another attraction. The lantern is said to be the biggest flower lantern in the world. It is 4.05 meters high, and weighs 127.5 kg. It is made of 400,000 multi-colored glass beads. Besides, you can appreciate all kinds of Chinese ancient farming tools in Lu Residential Complex such as mills, threshers, and air blowers. As a cultural treasure of China and the cream of the Chinese ancient architecture, Lu Residential Complex deserves the reputation of being the Imperial Palace in South China.