Meixi Archway (梅溪牌坊)
Three ornate 1886-era granite archways built for Chen Fang, China's first Hawaiian consul, plus his preserved Qing mansion — Zhuhai's first national heritage site.
Duration
1.5-2 hours
Cost
¥65 ($9) adult; ¥25 ($3.50) child 1.2–1.5m; free under 1.2m; ¥32.50 ($4.50) seniors 60+, students, disabled & active-duty soldiers with ID
Hours
Daily 08:30–18:00 (Jan 1–Oct 7); 08:30–17:30 (Oct 8–Dec 31); last entry ~30 min before close
Booking
No booking needed
Meixi Archway (梅溪牌坊, Méixī Páifāng) is Zhuhai's first national-level cultural heritage site and its most unusual one — three towering granite archways in the middle of a quiet village, built in 1886 and 1891 during the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty to honor Chen Fang (陈芳, Chén Fāng) and his parents. Chen was the first Chinese consul to Hawaii and one of the richest overseas Chinese of his era; when he returned home he poured his fortune into his ancestral village, and the emperor rewarded the family with these imperial stone gates.
What to see. Each archway stands about 12 meters tall with four pillars and a roof echoing the Hall of Supreme Harmony in Beijing's Forbidden City. Their inscriptions — "ready to help others" (乐善好施, lèshàn hǎoshī) and "loyal and honest" — and their mix of Qing imperial style with Western ornament reflect Chen's life straddling China and Hawaii. Beyond the archways, the main draw is Chen Fang's former residence: a rambling late-Qing mansion (陈芳家宅, Chén Fāng Jiāzhái) that blends classical halls with Hawaiian and colonial-era touches — check the courtyard, family history exhibition and the Zhuhai celebrities wax museum. A restored garden and the family cemetery complete the grounds.
Performances & practicalities. Daily folk shows, including Sichuan face-changing opera (变脸, biànliǎn), run at 10:00, 11:00 and 15:30. Plan 1.5–2 hours; bring water and sun protection, as much of the site is open-air.
Practical tips
- Go on a weekday morning — school and tour groups roll through on weekends and the archway plaza gets crowded. It's a quiet, low-traffic site otherwise, so an hour and a half is plenty. Carry cash or have Alipay/WeChat ready: ticket desks can be slow with foreign cards, and there are no ATMs on the grounds. The Sichuan face-changing opera (变脸, biànliǎn) runs at 10:00, 11:00 and 15:30 daily — worth timing a visit around one. The grounds are open-air granite and blacktop with little shade; bring water and sunscreen in summer, mosquito repellent after rain. Public buses 41 and 26 stop at Meixi Archway (¥1–2 per ride); taxis/rideshares from Gongbei Port take ~25–30 min. Allow a separate hour if you want to walk the restored Chen Family Garden and cemetery rather than just the archways.