Jishan Gatehouse (, literally "accumulate goodwill tower") is a historic

gatehouse A gatehouse is a type of fortified gateway, an entry control point building, enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a town, religious house, castle, manor house, or other fortification building of importance. Gatehouses are typically the most ...

Beitun District Beitun District (; lit: northern camp) is a District (Taiwan), district in Taichung, Taiwan. Located in the northern part of the city, it is a half mountainous, half urban area. Though Beitun District used to be considered part of the countrysi ...

Taichung Taichung (, Wade–Giles: '), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality in central Taiwan. Taichung is Taiwan's second-largest city, with more than 2.85 million residents, making it the largest city in Ce ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

. Initially constructed as the south entrance to a '' sanheyuan'', the gatehouse is protected as a historical site in Taichung.

History

The Lai family were one of the earliest

Han Chinese The Han Chinese, alternatively the Han people, are an East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Greater China. With a global population of over 1.4 billion, the Han Chinese are the list of contemporary ethnic groups, world's la ...

settlers in Taichung. Originating from

Pinghe County Pinghe County () is a county of the prefecture-level city of Zhangzhou, in southern Fujian province, PRC, bordering Guangdong province to the west. Administrative Division The administrative centre or seat of Pinghe County is Xiaoxi (). Towns ...

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

in mainland China, the family settled in what is modern-day Beitun District. In 1898, a member of this family, Changrong Lai (賴長榮), moved from Touzhang to the north to the current location, building the ''sanheyuan'' known as "Huaidetang" (). A simple gate was constructed at the southern entrance. In 1924, the family decided to rebuild the southern entrance according to a

feng shui Feng shui ( or ), sometimes called Chinese geomancy, is a traditional form of geomancy that originated in ancient China and claims to use energy forces to harmonize individuals with their surrounding environment. The term ''feng shui'' mean ...

specialist's advice. The new entrance is said to be able to boost the family's prosperity and keep them away from harm. The name of the building was taken to encourage future generations to act with kindness.

References

{{Coord, 24.1693, N, 120.6938, E, type:landmark_region:TW, display=title 1924 establishments in Taiwan Buildings and structures completed in 1924 Buildings and structures in Taichung

History

See also

References