Page 48 - JCAU-7-2

Journal of Chinese

Architecture and Urbanism

ORIGINAL ARTICLE
The Shan-Shaan Guild Hall: A historical nexus on

the Great Tea Route

Yixin Wang and Jie Han*
Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, China
(This article belongs to Special Issue: Current Theories, Perspectives, and Practices in Built
Environment and Built Heritage)

Abstract

Jia County, located in Pingdingshan City, Henan Province, is one of China’s historical cities,
known for its prosperous economy and thriving community of merchants and traders.
Recognizing Jia County’s geographical advantages, merchants from Shanxi and Shaanxi
Provinces, renowned for their business acumen, funded the construction of the Shanxi-
Shaanxi Guild Hall in 1693. This guild hall served as a multifunctional hub for business
negotiation, sacrificial rituals to honor the gods, hospitality for guests, and fostering
connections among Shanxi and Shaanxi businessmen, strengthening the exchange
of economic and trade information. As an important architectural heritage site along
the cultural route of the Great Tea Route, the Shanxi-Shaanxi Guild Hall holds immense
historical and cultural value. The local government has initiated plans to preserve it as a
*Corresponding author: public space for future generations. This article examines the Shanxi-Shaanxi Guild Hall in
Jie Han
(hj@xmu.edu.cn) the context of the Great Tea Route as a cultural route. Drawing on archival research, field
investigations, and semi-structured interviews, it delves into Shanxi-Shaanxi Guild Hall’s
Citation: Wang, Y. & Han, J.
(2025). The Shan-Shaan Guild Hall: tangible and intangible cultural characteristics and its historical relationship with the Great
A historical nexus on the Great Tea Route. By uncovering the deeper value connotation of the Shanxi-Shaanxi Guild Hall,
Tea Route. Journal of Chinese this study aims to provide new insights into the conservation of cultural heritage.
Architecture and Urbanism, 7(2):
4582.
https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.4582 Keywords: Cultural route; The Great Tea Route; Shanxi-Shaanxi Guild Hall;
Received: August 19, 2024 Value connotation
1st revised: October 7, 2024
2nd revised: October 15, 2024 1. Introduction
Accepted: November 1, 2024
The Shanxi-Shaanxi Guild Hall , also known as the Shanxi-Shaanxi Temple
1
Published online: December 13, (山陕庙), is located on the north side of Xiguan Street (西关大街) in Chengguan town
2
2024
Copyright: © 2024 Author(s). 1 Guild hall began to appear in Chinese cities during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) as the
This is an open-access article result of a economic prosperity. Similar to their counterparts in Europe, these halls served as
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution- gathering places for immigrants (Steinhardt, 2019).
Non-Commercial 4.0 International 2 Xiguan Street is part of the Xiguan historical and cultural district, which was designated as one
(CC BY-NC 4.0), which permits all of the second batch of provincial-level historical and cultural districts. The district encompass
non-commercial use, distribution, a protection area of 16.55 ha, with a core protection area of 8.2 ha, and includes 48 historical
and reproduction in any medium, buildings. This ddistrict serves as the western gateway to the historical town of Jia county and
provided the original work is functions as a traffic hub for Shanxi and Anhui merchants. It is also a key node along several
properly cited. historic routes, including the Great Tea Route, the ancient Salt Road, the historical land route
Publisher’s Note: AccScience for tobacco exports. Additionally, it once served as the residence of the People’s Liberation
Publishing remains neutral with Army during the liberation of Jia county. Xiguan Street, along with Lushan Lane (鲁山巷),
regard to jurisdictional claims in Huangdao Lane (黄道巷), Camel Road (骆驼道), retains its original layout. The shops along
published maps and institutional these streets are predominantly wooden-planked houses, showcasing a vibrant commercial
affiliations. history and a wealth of cultural relics (Pingdingshan City Government, 2021).

Volume 7 Issue 2 (2025) 1 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.4582