Watch Day Observed at Fortified Manors of Yongtai, China, to Coincide with Lantern Festival

Village leaders, scholars, and local residents gathered as members of the Huang Clan carried a statue of the god BaiMaDaWangGong through the streets of Chang Wan Village, part of this year’s Lantern Festival festivities at the Fortified Manors of Yongtai in Fujian Province, China. The celebrations, which included offerings of incense, paper money, and food were part of Watch Day observances at the site.

Typically taking the form of large, multi-family complexes, the manors reflect Confucian notions of the family and filial piety. In recent years, shifts in the economy and social structures have led to the abandonment of these buildings as principal dwelling places. The Huang Clan are the proprietors of three surviving manors, all built between 1860 and 1905. Known as zhuangzhai in Mandarin, these impressive examples of Chinese domestic architecture were added to the World Monuments Watch in 2022 to bring attention to efforts by local custodians to revitalize the buildings and the forest economy that once supported life in the region.

“Being able to do something for the zhuangzhai with my own strength has been my wish for many years,” said Huang Zhumin, a member of the Huang Clan, who drove over 100 km from Fuzhou to assist with Watch Day preparations. Bottom-up active participation from community members like Huang made the festivities possible. Support was also given by World Monuments Fund, Yongtai Zhuangzhai Council, Beijing Guowenyan Cultural Heritage Conservation Center, and ConserVision.

Village and county government representatives were in attendance at the Watch Day celebrations. In addition to traditional religious observances, the event also included the unveiling of new signboards acknowledging the sites’ Watch status and seminars on local architecture and folklore. Hunghsi Chao, the WMF Project Manager who oversees the site, gave a talk on WMF and rural revitalization in China. Jonathan Bell, Vice President of Programs, also participated in the events via a recorded speech in which he extended his best New Year wishes for the Year of the Rabbit and expressed gratitude for those who had rallied around the manors’ preservation.

Watch Days like this one are celebrations by local communities held at WMF Watch sites to honor the preservation of these places. For more information on the 25 sites named to the Watch in 2022, click here.

The World Monuments Watch is a nomination-based process that galvanizes individuals, communities, and leaders from across the public and private sectors to come together around global issues affecting heritage sites and sets the future direction of WMF’s fieldwork.

Since 1996, WMF has contributed over $110 million to projects at more than 300 Watch sites and helped communities leverage an additional $300 million from other sources.

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World Monuments Fund safeguards cultural heritage around the globe, ensuring our treasured places are preserved for present and future generations. 

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