The Zhu Family Hall is the residence of a wealthy Zhu family in Wuzhen. People in Wuzhen like to call it ‘Hall on Hall’. Wuzhen is located by the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. It is at the junction of two provinces, three prefectures and seven counties. Its geographical location is very special. With developed water and land transportation, it is prosperous in business and has a developed economy. Therefore, there are especially many people doing business. In Wuzhen, there are many halls and residences of wealthy families, such as the Xu Family Hall and Zhao Family Hall on East Street. These houses have unique architectural styles and exquisite carvings in the halls. The Zhu Family Hall not only gathers the characteristics of these large residences, but also is a hall with unique temperament in Wuzhen. Its characteristic is that there is a hall on the hall. Most of the houses in Wuzhen are of brick-wood structure. Although they have the advantage of ‘the walls may fall but the house will not collapse’, fire has always been a major hidden danger. In view of this, a layer of blue bricks is laid on the second floor of the Zhu Family Hall to avoid the danger of fire caused by falling candles. At the same time, after laying blue bricks, the sound when walking upstairs is lighter than directly on the wooden floor, so it will not affect the business downstairs. This architectural form of ‘hall on hall’ is very rare. It is said that it was built by masters who were invited by the owner to build palaces at that time. After completion, in order to test the firmness of the floor, a stone mortar was placed upstairs to pound rice cakes, and the floor was not damaged at all, fully reflecting the wisdom of the construction craftsmen and the intention of the owner at that time. The main hall of the Zhu Family Hall is named Zhaoqing Hall. After the owner gave up his official position and engaged in business, he started the jewelry business and named his jewelry store ‘Zhaoqing Hall’. Because the jewelry of the Zhu family is exquisitely crafted and reliable in quality, it was a well-known brand in the Jiangnan area at that time. When local people prepared for weddings, they would definitely buy jewelry from ‘Zhaoqing Hall’. Nowadays, in the Zhu Family Hall, there are still many gold and silver ornaments that have been treasured until now on display. Its exquisite craftsmanship is not inferior to ornaments processed by modern machinery at all.
Opening hours: Open all year round from 8:00 to 18:00.
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