History
Originally the Ming residence of Xu Xie, the site was rebuilt as an official headquarters by General Chen Long in 1682.
The site began as Congqing Xuan, the residence of Kinmen scholar Xu Xie, a successful Ming civil-service examination candidate renowned for his writing.
In 1682, Chen Long converted the residence into the Kinmen regional military headquarters, the senior institution responsible for naval forces and coastal defence.
The commander worked and held council here, directing naval units and coastal defence while the site witnessed movement across the Taiwan Strait.
The buildings later accommodated county government and other offices, remaining an administrative focus as Jincheng developed.
The restored compound presents its halls, offices, inner residence, warships and weapons as a free heritage attraction.
A zongbing was a senior officer of the Qing Green Standard Army with responsibility for the military affairs of a region. The Kinmen commander directed naval units and coastal defence and was effectively the area’s highest military authority.
Historical depth
Before it became a government office, this plot was a scholar’s garden. Stretched across time, the complex carries three identities stacked on one site: a study, a yamen, a monument.
Ming scholar, first in the metropolitan examination
Courtesy name Zixun, style name Zhongdou, a native of Houhu on Kinmen. He placed first in the 1601 metropolitan examination and was known for both his writing and his filial piety. The study traditionally identified as the forerunner of today’s site was Congqing Xuan, and his works were gathered as its anthology. Before this plot became a government office, it was a scholar’s garden — because of him.
First garrison commander of Kinmen
Styled Linzhang, a native of Longxi in Zhangzhou, Fujian, and the first Qing garrison commander of Kinmen. In 1682 he built the official compound on the Congqing Xuan site, fixing the layout for the next two centuries and helping Houpu grow from a village into a regional administrative and commercial centre.
What follows are oral traditions and folk beliefs — evidence of how people remember this ground rather than settled historical fact. Read them as another kind of local archive.
Tradition says Xu Xie was originally named Xingzhou; one night he dreamt the examination results were posted and the top name read “Xie”, so he changed his name. The following year he did place first. The tale cannot be verified, but it captures how the island remembers a sudden rise to fame.
Congqing Xuan means roughly “the pavilion where green gathers”. The name lets later generations picture a scholar’s garden among trees and water — not the grand official layout, but what this plot looked like before the compound existed.
At a Qing-dynasty arch in the Houpu quarter, one of the stone lions at its base is painted and draped with ribbons. Locals honour it as the “Stone Lion Goddess”, said to be the incarnation of the chaste widow the arch commemorates and regarded as a guardian of small children. It is one of the few folk devotion points in Houpu still actively petitioned — a reminder that official commemoration and popular belief often share the same structure.
After the garrison was established, the officially worshipped City God and the civil administration shared Houpu, creating the familiar pairing of a worldly office and an otherworldly tribunal. This pairing is common across south China and is key to understanding why the Houpu quarter flourished around the government compound.
On sourcing Biographical details and dates are compiled from local literature, official tourism material and published reports; some details differ between accounts. Legend passages are explicitly marked as oral tradition and make no historical claim. See the sources listed at the foot of the page.
Sources & verification
This page is an independent visitor guide. Facts that affect a visit are checked against the sources below and dated.
Opening hours, admission, address and contact details.
Meeting time and the guided walking route.
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