The History of Nanshe Ancient Dwellings

The ancient folk houses in Nanshe Village have now become provincial-level cultural relics protection units, and many people come to visit and explore the ancient times every year, which has become a major tourist hotspot in eastern Dongguan. Prior to this, Nanshe has been open to tourists and photographers free of charge.

Nanshe ancient village in Ming and Qing Dynasties has 22 ancestral halls and more than 200 ancient houses. According to the genealogy of Xie's family in Nanshe, Xie, the son of Huiji (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang) in the last years of the Southern Song Dynasty, moved south because of the war. After many twists and turns, he settled in Nanshe in the first year of Deyou Yihai in Song Gongdi (1275). After hundreds of years of development in Ming and Qing Dynasties, an ancient village of 96,000 square meters was formed. The ancient village of Nanshe in Ming and Qing Dynasties was bounded by the village wall. The village is centered on the long pond in the middle, with natural mountains scattered on both sides, reasonable roadway layout and complete safety and defense facilities. The cultural landscape of agricultural settlements with Pearl River Delta characteristics consists of dwellings, ancestral halls, academies, shops, temples, ancient banyan trees, pavilions, village walls, ancient wells, alleys and archways. What is commendable is that there are many undamaged buildings in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, and a large number of stone carvings, brick carvings, wood carvings, gray sculptures and pottery sculptures have been preserved, which have high artistic value. Xie's Grand Ancestral Hall, Centennial Weng Temple, Centennial Square, Xiejia Temple, Minister Hall, etc. are all excellent ancient buildings in Nanshe.