Architectural History of Conghua Zhonglou Ancient Village

There is an ancient village called Zhonglou Village in Shenzhen-Hong Kong Town, Conghua District, Guangzhou. It is a well-preserved old house with a history of over 100 years. In the middle of the village is an ancestral temple with 99 doors, surrounded by battlements for self-defense, and outside the village is a trench, similar to the moat of the ancient city pool. If you wander around the village for a week, it's like returning to the ancient small kingdom. In this "small kingdom", everyone who lives is surnamed Ouyang. According to "Bell Tower" written by Ouyang Yutuan, a descendant of Ouyang family, Zhonglou Village was built at the end of Tongzhi in Qing Dynasty (A.D. 1862). The whole village is built by hanging Jin Zhongshan behind the village, showing northwest to southeast. There is a gatehouse at the entrance to the village and a small arch with the word "bell tower" written on it. The wall around the village is more than 3 meters high, and there are four two-story battlements in the four main commanding heights, which are used to watch and observe the enemy. Outside the city wall is a moat more than 2 meters wide and 3 meters deep. The moat passes through the front of the village, goes around the edge of the village, goes up the mountain and reaches the top of the mountain, which can not only protect and drain the flood, but also isolate the village from the surrounding area. There is a five-story turret in the left back corner of the village, with narrow I-shaped and circular holes on the fourth and fifth floors and four walls, echoing the battlements all around. These solid walls, moats and turrets can ensure that the whole village is free from bandits in turbulent years.