Carved in Clay · Chen Clan Hall

Guangzhou4.71 hr 30 min7.9k saved

A Qing clan academy encrusted with ceramic roof-ridge figures, wood and brick carving — Cantonese folk craft at full volume.

It sits in Guangzhou, and rewards going slowly rather than ticking it off. Best morning, at opening — beats tour groups.

Good to know

Best time — Morning, at opening — beats tour groups
Generally open daily daytime hours; check locally for closures.

Insider tip — Walk slowly through each of the 19 halls — the Cantonese Qing woodcarving, brick carving, and stone carving tell different stories in every courtyard.

Photo: Shujianyang · CC BY-SA 4.0

Carved in Clay · Chen Clan Hall

Good to know

More in Guangzhou

A 600-metre tower cinched at the waist like a sleek hourglass, glowing in shifting colour over the Pearl River. Go up an hour before sunset.

A leafy sandbank of pastel European mansions and old banyans, walled off from the city's roar by two narrow canals.

The city's largest park, climbing a banyan-shaded hill to the Five Rams statue of Guangzhou's founding myth.

Twin Gothic spires built entirely of carved granite — one of only a handful of all-stone cathedrals on earth, the locals call it the Stone House.

Carved in Clay · Chen Clan Hall

Good to know

More in Guangzhou

A 600-metre tower cinched at the waist like a sleek hourglass, glowing in shifting colour over the Pearl River. Go up an hour before sunset.

A leafy sandbank of pastel European mansions and old banyans, walled off from the city's roar by two narrow canals.

The city's largest park, climbing a banyan-shaded hill to the Five Rams statue of Guangzhou's founding myth.

Twin Gothic spires built entirely of carved granite — one of only a handful of all-stone cathedrals on earth, the locals call it the Stone House.