[Photo from cdta.gov.cn]

Huguang Guild Hall was built by immigrants who came from Hubei and Hunan provinces to Chengdu, in 1746 (the 11th year of Qianlong’s reign). The hall well reflects the hard-working lives of the early immigrants.

There are no drains in the courtyard, but no matter how heavy the rain is, there is no running and spreading of water, even if there are floods in the street, and the phenomenon is a highlight of the architecture.

It was said that the building was blessed by Da Yu, a hero in an ancient tale, who took responsibility, and successfully saved the country from flooding after his father had failed to do so.

Flooding was a great problem throughout Chinese history. There were several ancient stories of heroes saving people from floods, and Yu was the most famous.