Hengsheng Stone Archway

The Hengsheng Stone Archway is located in Xianren Mountain, Hengxing Village, Wu Xiangzhen, Yin County, and together with the Miaogou Stone Archway, it is one of the earliest known stone archways existing in China.

It stands on the hillside as a tomb path archway, constructed with local “Yi’ao Shi” stone material. The tomb path where it is located has been destroyed, and the identity of the tomb owner is untraceable.

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The archway is a two-column, one-room, one-story structure, imitating wooden architecture, facing west from the east, grand and spectacular yet exquisitely detailed.

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According to expert research and verification, both the Hengsheng Stone Archway and the Miaogou Stone Archway, in terms of construction and detailed practices, are imitations of wooden structures, which are significantly different from stone archways built during the Ming and Qing dynasties. However, they are basically consistent with the Song Dynasty’s ‘Yingzao Fashi’, indicating a clear transition period from wooden to stone archways, thus it is confirmed that both archways were built around the Southern Song to Yuan Dynasty.

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Their discovery provides valuable examples for the study of stone archway culture in China before the Ming Dynasty, possessing high historical and artistic value.

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It is worth mentioning that the Hengsheng Stone Archway was discovered in the summer of 1999 during the third cultural relics survey in Ningbo City, creating a miracle. The archway is open all year round, accessible 24/7.

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