Building of Guangdong Provincial Department of Finance

The Guangdong Provincial Department of Finance is located at the northern end of Beijing Road. It was formerly known as the Guangdong Chenghuan Minister of Political Envoys (i.e. Fansi Yamen) in the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was a higher administrative agency dispatched by the imperial court in Guangdong Province. The Guangdong Provincial Department of Finance is a brick, wood, reinforced concrete structure building imitating the European Renaissance architectural style. It is one of the representative buildings of Guangzhou's modern imitation of Western classical eclecticism. Started in 1915, the project was carried out in two phases and completed in 1919. The main building is five stories high, and the ground floor is the base. The building sits north to south, with a concave plan and a construction area of 6,500 square meters. The facades of the second and third floors are of giant column type and coupon column structure. The first and third floors of the original building were reinforced concrete floors, and the second, fourth and fifth floors were wooden floors. The building is 28.57 meters high and 37.14 meters wide. The middle room adopts the double giant column type, and the arc-shaped staircase connects the outdoor and the second floor. The fourth floor adopts square window holes and double round pilasters. Five floors with pilasters on both sides. The roof can be reached along the semi-circular ladder, and in the middle is the empty-topped octagonal hall. During the maintenance in 1979, the foundation of the building was reinforced according to the earthquake-proof requirements of the Guangzhou area, and the second, fourth, and fifth-floor wooden floors were changed to reinforced concrete floors, which still retains its majestic appearance. The whole building has a stable shape, coordinated proportions, and the interior space is tall and bright.