The Huguang Guild Hall stands near the Dongshuimen gate in Yuzhong district, above the Yangtze. It was built in 1759 by merchants who had migrated to Chongqing from Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong and Guangxi - huguang refers to those provinces - and it served as an association house, a temple, a warehouse and a social club for those communities. It is the largest and best-preserved guild hall complex in China.
The buildings
The complex is a dense arrangement of halls, courtyards, stages and side rooms built up the slope, with brick and timber structures, high gables, carved screens and painted beams. The emphasis on theatrical stages is unusual and reflects the role these halls played: opera performances for the community, with the audience sitting in the courtyards and around the galleries. The restoration, completed in the 2000s, kept the scale of the original buildings, and the interiors hold exhibits on migration, trade and the guild system, plus a collection of opera costumes and instruments.
Sichuan opera here
Performances are staged in the halls in the evening, with excerpts rather than full-length works, which makes them accessible to a visitor with no background in the form. The pieces to watch for are face-changing, where masks transform in front of you in less than a second; fire-spitting; and the comic and acrobatic routines that Sichuan opera does better than anyone. There are also shadow puppet and hand puppet shows during the day in some seasons.
Practical information
The guild hall is on Changbin Road in Yuzhong, near Xiaoshizi metro station on Lines 1 and 6, and within walking distance of the Yangtze cableway and Hongya Cave. Day admission and evening performance tickets are separate, and it is worth booking the show a day ahead in high season. The site is largely outdoors and on slopes, so wear comfortable shoes and bring an umbrella in the wet months.
Combining it
The guild hall, the Dongshuimen city wall remains and the old lanes of Yuzhong make a compact half day, and the riverside walk back towards Hongya Cave gives you the city skyline from below. In the evening the performance finishes early enough to eat afterwards.
