Guancai Building

Located on the top of Bijia Mountain, the Guancai Building (Scenic View Building) derived its name from the fact that the sunset view can be claimed from the building. With a breadth of 17 meters and a depth of 15 meters, the building was designed by a Dutch engineer and completed between 1930 and 1931. The building had been traded several times since its completion. Covering a floor area of 417 square meters, it is a three-story Western-style building built with bricks, stones, concrete and red flat tiles. It is equipped with an underground damp-proof layer. The building boasts a novel exterior design and delicate decorations and handling of details. For instance, the gate and the twist-shaped porch columns are made of granite, looking quaintly beautiful and supporting the overhanging corridor of the second floor. The lintel of the gate of the second floor is also engraved with a portrait resembling a Dutch in the 17th and 18th centuries. The four corners and the lower part of the walls were built with layers of granite-dressed stones. The exterior walls of the second floor were stuccoed walls built with concrete and bricks; the rectangular windows of the first and second floors were built with granite dressed stones with one layer being an iron sliding window and another being a vertical sliding window. The roof is a typical French-style curved mansard roof with the center being a rooftop. The arch back-shaped roof lies in the third layer divided by ridges and covered with red flat tiles. Arch concrete windows opened from the arch back generate a strong three-dimensional sense. In the center of the interior is the living room with bedrooms around. The interior is laid with Western tiles and wooden dado. The plate-wood floor of the third floor is spacious enough to serve as a ballroom. Each floor is connected by a wooden staircase. The front elevation is set with an outdoor rooftop connected with the living room, enabling cooling and viewing of the scenery.