The newly opened ( Sep 2005 ) Huguang Guild Hall (hú guǎn huì guǎn 湖广会馆) is one of the most interesting sightseeing spots in Chongqing.

This grand building complex can be found in East Shuimen Street (dōng shuǐ mén zhèng jiē 东水门正街)in the city of Chongqing. The building group was first built in 1759 under the regime of Emperor Qinglong (qián  lóng dì 乾隆帝) in the Qing Dynasty created as an early form of union hall and was expanded many times turning it into a sprawling complex of buildings, courtyards, and gardens around 100 years later. The complex covers around 8500 square kilometres and contains many halls such as Guangdong Hall (guǎng dōng huì guǎn 广东会馆), Jiangnan Hall (jiāng nán huì guǎn 江南会馆), Lianghu Hall (liǎng hú huì guǎn 两湖会馆), Jiangxi Hall (jiāng xī huì guǎn 江西会馆) and there are also 4 other towers for opera shows. The wooden building walls, doors and windows were delicately carved. The theme of these carvings includes human figures, and animals and various plants. It's amazing that they were so vividly sculptured. It is a classic example of an ancient Chinese Guild hall.

This batch of halls was originally built for the immigrants who moved here from Huanguan Areas (hú guǎng 湖广) - today's Hunan (hú nán 湖南), Hubei (hú běi 湖北), Guangdong (guǎng dōng 广东) and Guangxi (guǎng xī 广西) Provinces. At the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty the population in Sichuan (sì chuān 四川)declined dramatically. During the early Qing-Dynasty there lived only about 800.000 people in Sichuan Province. So the rulers of that time ordered people living in the Hu and Guang areas to move there to cultivate the fertile land. This was the famous Huguang Filled up Sichuan Movement (hú guǎng tián chuān 湖广填川). Those migrants all build their own guildhalls. The huguang Guild Hall was built by people from Hubei and Guangdong Provinces. Here they had a location for business, culture and social affairs.

There is a Yuwang Temple (yǔ wáng gōng 禹王宫) in that complex, which was the place to pray for a good harvest for the coming years. Dating back to 300 years ago, people gathered at the temple to sacrifice Yuwang, a local god, for happiness, good harvest and fortune in the coming years.
 

you will enjoy the solemn atmosphere of the ancient halls, which are surrounded by modern highrise buildings.

Tips

Location : Bajiao Road, East Shuimen Street.
Huguang Filled up Sichuan Movement was a very important yet weepy event in China's history somewhat like American's Westward Movement. The hall displays later generations this grand event and many sore stories occurred during that special period.
Ticket : 30 RMB
Telephone : 63930287
Opening hour : 8:30-18:00
Bus : 702, 832, 875