This is the township with the most representative collection of southern Fujian architecture in the Kinmen region. First founded more than eight centuries, it is renowned for its families with a tradition of military or civil service, the "7 mansions and 8 ancestral shrines" and Yigu Hall, the first public school in Kinmen. The town itself contains over two hundred traditional private homes and also the largest number of "Three Courtyard Grand Abodes". During the Ming Dynasty, Tsai Hsien-Chen became an official of the imperial court so Emperor Xizong granted his hometown "Pinglin" the new name of "Cyonglin". The Tsai clan is therefore the most dominant bloodline in this village and produced many outstanding scholars during the Ming and Qing Dynasty (at one point setting a record with the number of extended family members to pass the imperial examinations). This is why many local homes have ornate saddleback swallowtail roofs and detailed clay sculptures found on the homes of government officials. The family shrines are also bedecked with plaques that commemorate "Brothers Scored First in Examinations" or "Officials for Five Generations".The hub of the village is the Tsai Family Ancestral Shrine. Each branch of the family had their own shrine as well though they were all arranged with their branch's main shrine at the center. The Ministry of Interior has gradually restored these shrines and listed them as class 2 national historic monuments. The rich scholarly tradition here is the village's main attraction.As you walk through the hundred-plus houses and the lanes between them, the old walls are all organized neatly around the family shrines built slightly higher than private homes. This provided a potent demonstration of the clans' cohesion and devotion to Confucian traditions.Cyonglin Spirit Lion Statue: The northeast and southwest corners of the settlement each has one Spirit Lion Statue. Both are now considered...