Chen De-Jiu Family Hall, Ancestral hall in West Central District, Tainan City, Taiwan.
Chen De-Jiu Family Hall is an ancestral hall in the Yongfuli area of Tainan's West Central District, built in the southern Fujian architectural style. The building features wooden carvings, decorative statues, and painted murals across its interior and exterior surfaces.
The hall was founded in 1644 as the main ancestral site for the Chen family, making it one of the oldest surviving family halls in Tainan. Its original structure has been largely preserved over the centuries, though it has undergone restoration work over time.
The hall is still used by Chen family descendants for ancestral rites, giving it a living quality that many historic sites lack. Visitors can observe offerings and incense burners that show how the space remains a gathering point for family memory.
Visiting during daylight hours helps you see the carvings and murals in good light, as the interior can be dim. The layout is straightforward, so moving through the different spaces on your own is easy.
A statue inside the hall, known as the Han Fan House Carrier, plays an unexpected role beyond decoration by functioning as part of the building's water drainage system. Rainwater flows through carved wooden beams and exits through a dragon head spout, a solution that links craft with function.
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