Xuguo Stone Memorial Archway

In the ancient mountain town Shexian County, passing through the gate tower "Yanghe Gate", you'll see a magnificent stone archway, Xu Guo Stone Archway, also called "eight-columned archway" by the locals. The archway was built in the 12th year of Wanli Reign (1584) in the Ming Dynasty, in honor of Xu Guo, vice-premier of the Ming government, the master teacher of the princes, Xu Guo (1527-1596), born in Shexian County, successively assisted Ming's three emperors: Jiaqing, Longqing and Wanli, and was highly favored by the emperors above. The archway was built just in his honor. The structure, with eight pillars, is 11.4 meters high, 11.54 meters long, 6.77 meters wide. The whole building was composed of large pieces of stone, each of which weighs 4-5 tons. The most attracting part of the archway is her stone carvings, which show the unique technique of the local style. The whole structure is covered by different designs of carvings, such as couples of phoenixes, flying dragons and other beasts of prey. The pictures are vivid, and the carvings are elegant and exquisite, which present excellent workmanship. Around the archway twelve stone lions in different mood are standing against the feet of the columns. On the upper part of each arch, the exquisite inscriptions were all written by the famous calligrapher Dong Qi Chang, one of Xu Guo's students at the time. Xu Guo Stone Archway is a national historic and cultural relics enrolled in the state protection list.