Zumiao Old Town

Zumiao — the Ancestral Temple — is one of the oldest and most architecturally elaborate Taoist temple complexes in Guangdong province. The original foundation dates to the Song dynasty (10th-13th century); the existing buildings are largely Ming and Qing reconstructions of the 14th through 19th centuries, with a density of ceramic ridge-tile decoration, carved-wood panels, and cast-iron ritual objects that collectively represent the height of Cantonese decorative craftsmanship.

The temple's principal deity is Beidi — the Northern Emperor, god of water — whose protection was considered essential to Foshan's iron-foundry and river-trade industries. The surrounding craft economy that grew in the temple's shadow (iron casting, silk weaving, paper-cutting, ceramic production) made Foshan one of the four great market towns of imperial China.

The Foshan Folk Art Research Society, based in the old-city streets near Zumiao, preserves and teaches the local specialities of paper-cutting, embroidery, and the production of lion-dance equipment. The society's workshop-gallery is open to the public and sells directly from the makers.

The Liang Guanyu Ancestral Hall, a Qing-dynasty clan hall, is the more ornate of the two major heritage halls in the immediate area — a sequence of ceremonial courtyards with carved granite pillars and polychrome ceramic friezes along the roof lines.