By Xinyi Li, EDITOR

The whole roof with black tiles and upswept eaves, stretching out from the top of the bounding wall, though limited in coverage, still highlights its once certain solemnity. The repaired structure, located at Jiefang Road, Yuzhong District, is precisely the Baxian Yamen (or Administrative Office), a protected cultural relics unit of Yuzhong District. With the restoration of the old architecture, the construction of the Ancient Drum Tower Yamen Site Park, Chongqing’s first site park, will also soon start.

The Baxian Yamen

The golden border, black background and red Chinese characters “Ba Xian Ya Men” on the plaque represent its solemnity in the past. Through the black-painted front gate, sunlight can only illuminate less than half of the hall.

The border

The large hall

The inside of Yamen

Four stone slabs with figure carvings stand still in the front of the hall. The facet of the carving has been blurred, however, and people have managed to restore them on those structures. Crisscrossing wooden beams and exquisite carvings show its past glory.

Carvings on the architecture

There are no decorations because the old architecture is not open to the public yet

Wooden beams and exquisite carvings

In the near future, there will be an 800-year-old Ancient Drum Tower Yamen Site Park around the old architecture. It can be traced to the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). In the future, the ruins of these buildings will be intact in the archaeological site park.

Vermilion wooden pillars and black walls

Source: CQCB