As a historical and cultural village, Zheng Ying is located in the southwest of Shiping County, about ten kilometers far away, the northwest of which is Baoxiu town. If you come to learn Chinese in China, you may be told that Zheng Ying has beautiful scenery and landscape. There are people of Zheng family, Wu family, Chen family and Li family living in there. Beside, each family has their own ancestral temples. The whole village is just like a lively town. The alleys and streets in the village are all named after the surnames of the families and the geographical environment.
At present, the street is paved with bluestone pavement and most of the residential houses are facing to the north and the large courtyards with local characteristics are maintained. In addition, the large scale and well-preserved Chen family’s ancestral temple and Zhen family‘s ancestral temple can be seen. The architecture in this Zheng Ying such as ancestral temples, pavilions, schools and typical residential houses have different characteristics, forming the cultural and historical features having a style of its own.
On November 16th, Chen family’s ancestral temple in Zheng Ying Village was approved as Yunnan provincial cultural relic protection site. Some of the foreign students who learn Chinese online free may know it was in 1999 that Zheng Ying Village was approved as the first and the only provincial cultural and historical village in Yunnan, enjoying the fame of the top village in Yunnan.
One thing you should know is Xi Shi Memorial Archway built in the village. Being built with bluestone, it faces to the east-west direction, covering a total area of 64 square meters. It was originally built in Guangxu period in Qing Dynasty. It is about 40 meters in height and 6 meters in width. There are triple eaves, four columns and three rooms. Eight stone lions standing on the block of stone.
On the top and middle of the memorial archway, a horizontal inscribed board with the characters “Sheng Zhi Jing Biao” is hanging. The under horizontal board is inscribed with the characters “San Dai Yi Pin Feng Dian”. Those who learn Mandarin can see antithetical couplets on the vertical columns on two sides. It is said that the memorial archway was built under the help of Wang Chi, one of the merchant prince in Yunnan at that time and have done many good things to the village.