Tunxi Old Street Architectural Style

The old street building maintains the traditional Huizhou ancient architectural style. There are 280 shops along the street, most of which are second-floor. They are typical downstairs shops, upstairs houses. The front-store and back-square buildings cover an area of 100,000 square meters. The old street buildings inherit the traditional architectural style of Huizhou residential houses. The planning layout and architectural form have distinct Huizhou architectural features. The buildings are small and medium, and the colors are light and simple. The construction of the old street has been rebuilt several times because undergoing war historically, but the style has not changed, still retaining the original structure and style, grey roof tiles, white powder wall, horse head wall, antique and ancient.

The shops in the old street are mostly single-opening rooms. Generally, there are two floors and a few three-story. There are horse-head walls between the shops, and the roof covers grey roof tiles. The bottom floor is a shop which use wooden door. When the door is removed, the store is fully displayed for easy operation. The old street buildings are all brick-and-wood structure, with beams and columns as skeletons, and solid bricks to the top. Under eaves, it is usually equipped with a goose neck porch, which serves as a support, a firm function, and a decorative effect. Upstairs, there are wooden fences and skirts which along the street, and various flower windows are placed, which is very elegant.

The building level of the old street is open-type along the street, and there is also an inner patio type. The building structure has two-in and two-box, three-in and three-box, paying attention to the depth. The so-called “passing the street in front and passing the river behind” is often the pattern of large shops. This kind of house structure with deep and continuous entrance has formed the business and life style of the front store, the back workshop, the front store, the back warehouse, or the downstairs store, the upstairs house. The quaint Huizhou architectural art of the old street, the elegant cultural atmosphere and the rich commercial atmosphere make people feel the comprehensive effect of Huizhou culture.