Sheqi Ancient Town

Shanxi and Shaanxi merchants spent millions of silver taels from the Qianlong to Guangxu reigns on this lavish guild hall, famed for its glazed screen wall and carved wooden archway.

Founded in the Jiaqing era by Dai Erlv, a master of Xinyi Liuhe boxing, this escort agency guarded tea caravans across Shanxi, Henan, Shaanxi and Hubei.

A Qing bureau taxing river and road trade stands beside Weishengchang, a Shanxi draft bank that followed Rishengchang and handled remittances across the Central Plains.

Once a leading river and land port of the Central Plains linking nine provinces with Beijing and Tianjin, the town keeps seventy-two grid-patterned streets and nine gates.

From 1756 to 1892, Shanxi and Shaanxi merchants living in Shedian built and expanded the Shanxi–Shaanxi Guild Hall over 136 years.

Around 1801–1802, Dai Erlü established the Guangsheng Escort Agency at Sheqi in Henan.