Statues at Chen Clan Academy, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, Asia

Getty Images/Robert Harding World Imagery

Chen Clan Ancestral Hall

Top choice in Guangzhou


An all-in-one ancestral shrine, Confucian school and ‘chamber of commerce’ for the Chen clan, this compound was built in 1894 by the residents of 72 villages in Guangdong, where the Chen lineage is predominant. There are 19 buildings in the traditional Lingnan style, all featuring exquisite carvings, statues and paintings, and decorated with ornate scrollwork throughout.