Pingyuan Travel Recommendations for 2024 (Updated in Apr)

The Ru Lin Di residence in Nantai Village, Pingyuan, Guangdong

The Ru Lin Di residence was built by the Xie family's fifteenth generation, National Hero Guo Ying, during the Qing dynasty. It is a Hakka enclosed house with three halls, four lateral sections, and a surrounding dragon structure, featuring a grain terrace and a geomantic pond in front of the house, covering an area of about 1540 square meters. There are four gates at the front, with the main gate being concave-bellied, framed with stone, and inscribed with the three characters 'Ru Lin Di'. The interior beams are adorned with gilded wood carvings. Currently, the lateral sections of the enclosed house are largely damaged.

Qiongfang Wei in Nantai Village, Pingyuan, Guangdong

Qiongfang Wei was built at the end of the Ming Dynasty by Xie's fourth-generation ancestor, Qiong Gong, and was rebuilt in 2006. Facing east to west, it features a layout of three halls, four wings, and a surrounding dragon, with a depth of 33.689 meters, a width of 36.898 meters, covering an area of about 2321.42 square meters, and a construction area of about 1827 square meters. It consists of a foreign pond, the main gate, walls, the main hall, side houses, flower platforms, and surrounding dragons, forming a layout of three halls, three wings, and a surrounding dragon. The main gate has a granite frame and wooden panels. The structure is made of brick, wood, and stone, with gray tile surfaces. The main hall has a suspended gable roof, the side houses have a hipped gable roof, and the hall is spacious with symmetrical corridors on both sides, lower at the front and higher at the back, with a flat and wide flower platform. The exterior walls are made of rammed earth, and the interior walls are built with mud bricks, with rammed earth floors and wooden beam frames. In front of the house, there is a semi-circular pond, and there is a well on the east and southeast sides. The main body originally had a carved screen. After the 2007 renovation, the main body has been well preserved. The second wing on the south side was demolished and rebuilt in 2007. It is of high value for the study of Hakka Wei architecture and local cultural history. In December 2015, it was announced as the first batch of historical buildings in Meizhou City. In December 2021, it was recognized as the first batch of Meizhou City Hakka Wei Long House Protection List.

Meizhou Pingyuan has a Wuzhishi Scenic Area, named after five five-finger peaks in the scenic area. The Wuzhishi Scenic Area is located in the town of Pinggan, Pingyuan County, Meizhou City. It is a typical Danxia landform scenic spot, which was formed in the middle and late Cretaceous period and is estimated to be about 90 million years ago. The main landform of the Wuzhishi Scenic Area is the lake clastic sedimentary rock stratum, which is dominated by brown, brown-red glutenite and siltstone, followed by sand shale. The five finger stone has the characteristics of male, dangerous, strange, beautiful, quiet and ancient. There are strange stones, strange vines, strange seams, odd trees and strange caves in the scenic area. There are also eight scenic spots, including Jianmen, Shilin Temple, Smart Spring, Mixed Yuan Tower, Yixiantian, Xianren Bed and Longwu. Temple, Qingyun Road. In addition, there are more than 60 scenic spots such as Xiaojingju, Butterfly Valley and Ecological Paradise. The Wuzhishi Canyon cliff path starts from the entrance of Guiqian Valley, passes through the right side of the mountain wall to Wan'an Village, then turns around the lion, sets up the cable bridge to Qimingdong, and then arrives at the banana orchard. There are many large and small scenic spots in the Wuzhishijing area. The famous ones are the glass path, the smart spring, the stone stalk, the Wuzhifeng and the Guiqiu Valley. The core scenic spots of the scenic area are composed of Baoding Stone (thumb), Luohan Stone (index finger), Tianzhu Stone (middle finger), Danlong Stone (nameless finger) and Baogaishi (final finger). Their relative height difference with the ground is more than 250 meters, and the highest peak is 460 meters above sea level. Because the peak body is covered by the lush green grass, the "five fingers" look very beautiful!

Pingyuan Jingxia Village's Baozhu Fortress is located in Jingxia Village, Renju Town, Guangdong

The fortress was built during the Qing Dynasty's Tongzhi era (about 140 years ago) amidst the Taiping Rebellion by a wealthy local named Qiu Zhudang, funded by his own wealth. It was named Baozhu Fortress because the mountain was rich in stones and was historically known for producing a unique kind of earth. The fortress stretches approximately one kilometer, with walls about seven meters high. The walls are equipped with numerous lookout holes and there is also a large bastion. There is one gate on both the eastern and western sides. Inside the fortress, the facilities are well-established, including a building, a temple, and a spring pool. Currently, there is a path leading up to the fortress from the mountain base, but the bastion has been damaged.

Baoshan Residence in Fengguang Village, Pingyuan, Guangdong

Baoshan Residence was the former home of Yao Yuping, facing southeast with the main body consisting of a three-hall, four-wing, and one-surrounding-dragon architectural structure. It features a front porch and a pond, with a well to the right. The main body spans 52 meters wide and 32 meters deep, covering a total area of 3,634 square meters, with 65 rooms and 7 halls of various sizes. There is a large pond in front of the house and a well on the right side. The Baoshan Residence is a typical Hakka surrounding-dragon house, with a stele and a brief introduction embedded on the outer wall to the right of the main gate. Baoshan Residence has one large and two small gates. The main gate has a wide porch with two square stone pillars supporting the beam and bracket. The porch beam frame is robust, with beautifully carved beams. Between the left and right beams stand a pair of wooden carved lions, exquisitely carved, gilded, and painted, lifelike. The main gate hangs the house name plaque 'Baoshan Residence', with a black lacquer base and large red characters. The three characters of 'Baoshan Residence' were inscribed by Hu Hanmin, a senior figure of the Republic of China. Yao Yuping once received an inscription from Mr. Sun Yat-sen, 'The great way is practiced, the world is for the public', with the salutation 'Comrade Yuping' and the signature 'Sun Wen' with a seal. This plaque and inscription seem to proclaim to the world the once prominent status of the house's owner. Inside the house, the main beams, doors, windows, and screens are carved and painted, and the walls at the entrance and the main hall are also painted with ink patterns, elegant in appearance. Around the main hall and the courtyard, there are 3-meter stone pillars, with eaves built of stone, sturdy and beautiful. The layout and furnishings of the hall are typical of Hakka residences, without much difference. The couplet in the hall reads 'Harmonious rain and wind celebrate together with heaven and man; equality and universal love are observed by all things and me', embedding the owner's name 'Yuping' and advocating equality, as well as expressing the wish for world peace, reflecting the spirit of Baoshan Residence. It is a key cultural relic protection unit of Guangdong Province. Yao Yuping (1882—September 19, 1974), originally named Shiyun, styled Yulong, and with the Dharma name Miaoyun, was born in Pingyuan County, Meizhou City, Guangdong Province. He graduated from Lingdong National College and Guangdong Huangpu Army Accelerated School. He was a senior figure of the Republic of China, a general in the army, and the commander-in-chief of the Northern Expeditionary Army during the 1911 Revolution. He participated in planning the 1911 Huanghuagang Uprising in Guangzhou, later served as the commander-in-chief of the Northern Expeditionary Army, led the Northern Expedition to victory, and made significant contributions to the successful conclusion of the Xinhai Revolution, ending the feudal monarchy and establishing the Republic of China. He passed away in Guangzhou on September 19, 1974.

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.