Huangyong Ronghai Li Family Ancestral Temple

At No. 13 Qinren Alley, the Ronghai Li Family Ancestral Temple stands at an elevation of exactly three meters, anchoring centuries of shifting local history. The Qing Dynasty structure originally rose to honor Li Ronghai, a clan patriarch who funded the Xishi Academy and secured sacrificial fields. Descendants passed between the massive granite pillars at the main entrance, their footsteps wearing smooth the stone thresholds beneath a roof heavy with glazed tiles. High above, ash sculptures crown the ridges, silently watching generations gather.

In August 1949, the scent of incense gave way to the sharp metallic tang of weaponry. Following the retreat of the Kuomintang’s Third Security Battalion, local water-town guerrillas claimed the courtyard. The ancestral shrine transformed into the headquarters of the Dongguan County New Fourth District People's Government. Here, Director Luo Jinrun and Deputy Chen Chenglai drafted public proclamations, their ink drying on wooden tables set beside carved doors.

The second courtyard holds the most striking physical memory of this era. Directly above the main ancestral hall, five red stars remain printed on the wall. The pigment, applied during the heat of the 1949 revolution, still clings to the masonry. Beneath these stars, three secret armed companies—the Flood Dragon, Azure Dragon, and River-Crossing Dragon—conducted military drills. Three hundred men stamped their boots against the ancient floor, preparing to strike from the surrounding villages.

The building absorbed every subsequent era. After the district government dissolved in 1953 following land reforms, the halls echoed with children's voices as a 1956 primary school branch. Two years later, the clatter of bowls filled the space when it became a 1958 people's commune canteen. Today, visitors examine rusted struggle tools displayed near the preserved red stars. The temple remains a quiet observer at GPS coordinates N 23°07'22.4", E 113°43'48.3", holding the physical weight of Qing dynasty devotion and twentieth-century revolution within its walls.