Lishan Village was established in Qianwu Town of Doumen District when a Wang (Huang) family clan moved here during the mid-Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368). Initially, it received its name, Lizhi Shan (Litchi Hill), due to vast areas of litchi (Lizhi) trees that were planted by the grandmother of Wang (Huang) Long. Later, it was renamed Lishan.

Lishan Village in the distance 

Ancestral halls and shrines

Out of six Huang family shrines in the village, 500-year-old Huang Great Ancestral Hall is recorded as the oldest such architectural cluster in Zhuhai.

Wang Great Ancestral Hall [Photo by Huang Xinquan in 2009]

Wang Mingxian (famous saint) Shrine is considered Number 1 in the world. It is widely known for a plaque with the gilded Chinese character Shou (longevity) autographed by Empress Dowager Tz'u-his (Cixi) in the Qing Dynasty. It was bestowed to Wang (Huang) Huai-sen (黃槐森), who served as governor-general of Yunnan Province and later Guangxi Province during the reigning years of Emperor Kuang-hsu (Guangxu), for his 60th birthday. The royal birthday presents also included a plaque etched with the Fu (meaning blessing or happiness) character.

Shou-character plaque

Huai-sen had been renowned for his integrity and expostulation to the Qing court for institutional reforms, and for highly revered philanthropy for his hometown. He resigned and returned to Lishan Village at age 72 in 1901 but died of disease the next year.

Wang Huai-sen

Nonetheless, the Shou plaque became a precious collectable of the Doumen District Museum in the 1980s, and a replica is hung in the central hall instead. The Fu plaque, however, was discovered in a lumber room and placed in the Wang Great Ancestral Hall for repair.

Fu-character plaque

Wang (Huang) Yuexuan Family Shrine on the left of Wang Great Ancestral Hall is the family shrine of Wang Huai-sen, the first-ever provincial governor born in Zhuhai.

Wang (Huang) Yuexuan Family Shrine

The two stone lions in front of the shrine have unusual upright necks. According to the Qing etiquette system, such stone lions could only be placed in front of the family shrines of second-rank-or-above officials, and lower-rank officials must get off their horses or sedans to pay respect when passing by.

Stone lions raise their heads

Folk customs

There is a 300-year-old folk tradition of Burning Bamboo Stick Incense to sacrifice to the King of the Inferno on the 30th day of the seventh lunar month. It took root on Jiuhua Mountain in Anhui 1,200 years ago.

Villagers make a resting-pier for the incense and burn it around their own residences to pray for the King of the Inferno to bestow seeds of kindness, good fortune, safety, and favorable weather for crops.

Burning Bamboo Stick Incense lit for the King of the Inferno on the 30th day of the seventh lunar month

Natives also activate the ground by selecting a fortunate hour and lucky day, inviting a Buddhist practitioner to "clean the ground." Meanwhile, a geomancer determines orientation and attaches a red label of "Good Luck to the Commencement" before building residences. Glutinous rice dumplings and the meat of three sorts of draught animals are used as sacrifices for the beam.

Furthermore, the annual first ploughing in the wake of the Chinese New Year, called "Plough Opening," villagers take symbolic shoe-shaped gold ingots, incense sticks, fruits, and biscuits, among other sacrifices to the King of the Inferno, to the fields. There, they pray for blessings of safety and good weather for crops.

Also popular in the village is the 300-year-old Drum & Gong Cabinet Parade, also called "Bayin (eight notes) Cabinet." A city-level intangible cultural heritage item, the carriage is borne by two performers while loaded with striking instruments such as a side drum, gong, bronze drum, and wooden knocker. Major performing instruments include a suona horn woodwind upon which to play Cantonese Opera pieces in the parade.

Drum & Gong Cabinet Parade [File photos]