Yexian Ming County Office

The county office at Yexian was begun in the second year of the Hongwu reign, 1369, and the provincial heritage portal describes it as one of only three ancient county offices surviving in the country and the only one of the Ming period among extant ancient government compounds. It covers 16,848 square metres in 41 units and 153 rooms, with the gate, the ceremonial gate, the great hall, the second and third halls laid out along a central axis, and the six ministries of the imperial government reproduced as side offices. Its magistrate held the fifth rank rather than the usual seventh, and repair work begun on 8 December 1997 opened the main halls to visitors on 29 September 1999.