Four Generations of Palace Guardian Archway

It stands at the northern end of South Village Main Street in Xincheng Town, erected in 1619, the 47th year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty. The archway commemorates four generations of the Wang clan from Xincheng: Wang Xiangqian, Minister of War during the Wanli period; his father Wang Zhiyuan, former Vice Minister of Revenue; his grandfather Wang Chongguang, former Administrative Commissioner of Guizhou; and his great-grandfather Wang Lin, former Tutor to the Prince of Yingchuan. The horizontal plaque bearing the inscription "Four Generations of Palace Guardians" is said to have been written by the celebrated calligrapher Dong Qichang of that era.

The entire archway is built entirely of brick and stone. Its four plinths are laid with large square stones, upon which polished bricks are stacked to form one large and two small arched gateways. Four pairs of imposing, vivid stone lions flank the front and rear of the gateways. The roof adopts a hip-and-gable style, rising high in the middle and sloping down on both sides, fitted with upturned flying eaves and bracket sets covered in antique tiles. Wind chimes hang from each of its eight extended corners. The archway is adorned all around with exquisite brick carvings of mythical beasts, rare birds, exotic blossoms and sacred herbs, all rendered with striking vitality. Four relief human figures carved in the centre of the archway look remarkably lifelike.

The archway measures 9.2 metres in width, 15 metres in height and 3.3 metres in depth, covering a ground area of 30 square metres. By the founding of the People’s Republic of China, long-term neglect had left it severely weathered and damaged. In 1983, the Shandong Provincial Department of Culture allocated special funds for a full restoration faithful to its original appearance. It was designated a Municipal Key Cultural Relic Protection Unit in 1987.