The Li Family Branch Ancestral Hall (also known as Li Yaoting's Family Temple), located at No. 37 Daju Street, Ancient City of Zhaotong, is a family temple built by Li Yaoting, a renowned merchant of Zhaotong in the late Qing Dynasty, for worshipping ancestors. Founded in the 34th year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty (1908), it boasts a grand scale, originally covering an area of 6,000 square meters, currently occupying 3,400 square meters with a construction area of 3,343 square meters.
The architectural complex of the Li Family Branch Ancestral Hall faces south with its back to the north, symmetrically laid out along the central axis, consisting of a main courtyard and east-west side courtyards. The main courtyard comprises a screen wall, front courtyard patio, east and west stele pavilions, front hall, rear courtyard patio, main hall, and east-west wing rooms; the east and west side courtyards are each composed of an entrance hall, through hall, east-west wing rooms, and main rooms.
In terms of architectural techniques, the Li Family Branch Ancestral Hall integrates local, official, and Lingnan regional architectural styles, making it a relatively unique and highly representative architectural complex in Zhaotong and even Yunnan. It features exquisite construction craftsmanship, an ingenious overall layout, and interconnected buildings. From the rare grey-plastered roof ridges in Yunnan, the eave tiles engraved with the decorative patterns of "Li Family Branch Ancestral Hall", to the vivid carvings on beams, brackets, doors, and windows, as well as various auspicious characters, patterns, and symbols; from the traditional earth paint that has retained its color despite a century of wind and frost, to the exquisitely chiseled stone components, neatly inlaid and elegant blue stones and bricks, and the traditional mortise-and-tenon jointed wooden frames that stably overlap—all embody the superb craftsmanship of ancient artisans and the advanced architectural level of the time. The complex thus holds high historical, artistic, and scientific research value.
With its grand scale, exquisite construction craftsmanship, ingenious overall layout, and interconnected buildings, the beams, brackets, doors, and windows are all carved with auspicious characters and patterns such as "fu" (blessing), "shou" (longevity), as well as patterns of orchids, auspicious clouds, and mythological stories, which are vivid and lifelike. The grey-plastered roof ridges showcase superb craftsmanship with exquisite decorative patterns, and the stone carvings such as column bases are exquisitely chiseled and magnificent. In 2013, it was designated as a municipal-level cultural heritage protection unit by Zhaotong City.
Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Li Family Branch Ancestral Hall once served as a school building, where the Girls' Higher National Primary School was established, pioneering national girls' education in Zhaotong. Later, it was renamed several times, including the United Girls' Normal School of Ten Counties in Zhaotong, Girls' Rural Normal School, and Girls' Elementary Normal School. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the printing factory of Zhaotong Daily moved in, and the Zhaotong Printing Factory relocated in 1996. Due to disrepair over time, roof collapse, rotten wooden frames, wall collapse, and inappropriate renovations during later use, the relics were severely damaged, seriously endangering the sound preservation of the cultural heritage. In accordance with the new-era cultural heritage protection policy of "protection first, strengthened management, value exploration, effective utilization, and bringing cultural relics to life" and the cultural relic renovation principles of "not changing the original state of cultural relics" and "minimum intervention", the Zhaotong Municipal People's Government raised funds for emergency protection and renovation in 2023.
