Chaobei house:the most beautiful old house of Southern Fujian in Wudianshi

　　A scene in Jinjiang

　　The traditional block of Wudianshi is known as the "ancient house museum of red brick in southern Fujian", and the Chaobei house has become one of the shining pearls with "the best materials of architecture and the best skills of carving".

　　Chaobei house faces to north, it’s five rooms and two doors with Yingshan roof, brick and stone building. There is a guard house on the left, and the dressing building situated above the room on the left and right side and wing-room,covering an area of 870 square meters.

　　Chaobei Zhuang, the owner of the Chaobei house, is an overseas Chinese living in Philippines. When he was a child, his family had a large population, a small income and the life is very hard. In his early 20s, Chaobei Zhuang went down to the South of the Ocean along with fellow villager, he suffered a lot in the foreign country, he used to be a porter, a choreman,pinched and saved for many years to open a rice mill, gradually make the career bigger, expand the business, opened winery, rice mill, and became a rich businessman.

　　In 1935, Chaobei Zhuang remitted entrusted the hometown clan leader to build Chaobei house. The clan leader did not hesitate to spend money to hire the most skilled woodworker and stone workers in Southern Fujian to build the most beautiful big house. However, at the later stage of the project of Chaobei house , The War of Resistance Against Japan broke out, then Chaobei Zhuang stopped the project, and donated project funds of the later period to the government to buy guns to against Japan. Nevertheless, the wood and stone carvings completed in the early days of the Chaobei house are still second to none among the numerous large houses in the Qingyang overseas Chinese hometowns.

　　In 2005, a TV series about the history of Jinjiang overseas Chinese "love in the south of the Ocean", was shot in the Chaobei house.

　　Now, Chaobei house is used for Wudianshi Folkloric Museum. It shows the original life appearance of five generations of Southern Fujian family's life from 30s to 80s by setting Southern Fujian traditional production and living appliances.

　　中文版

　　朝北大厝：

　　五店市最美的闽南古大厝

　　走进晋江五店市传统街区，一栋栋红砖墙面的闽南古大厝扑面而来，令人温暖。五店市传统街区被誉为“闽南红砖古厝博物馆”，而朝北大厝以“用尽建筑之佳材，极尽雕琢之能事”，成为其中一颗璀璨的明珠。

　　朝北大厝坐南朝北，为五开间二进硬山顶砖木石建筑，左有护厝，左右梢间及厢房上面起梳妆楼，占地面积870平方米。

　　朝北大厝的主人庄朝北，是旅菲华侨。在他小时候，家里人口多、收入少，生活十分艰苦。20岁出头时，庄朝北跟着乡人一起下南洋，在异国他乡受了很多苦，当过搬运苦力，打过杂工，省吃俭用，攒下一笔钱，开了一间碾米厂，渐渐把事业做大，拓展实业，开办酒厂、碾米厂，成为富商。

　　1935年，庄朝北汇款委托家乡族老，为其建造朝北大厝。族老不惜重金请来闽南地区手艺最好的木工、石工，准备建造一座最美观的大厝。然而，朝北大厝工程进行到后期时，恰遇抗日战争爆发，于是，庄朝北将工程停了下来，将后期的工程款全部省下来捐献给了政府，以购买枪支弹药抗日。尽管如此，朝北大厝前期完成的木雕和石雕，在青阳侨乡众多的大厝中仍然首屈一指。

　　2005年，反映晋江华侨历史的电视连续剧《南洋有情天》曾在朝北大厝取景。

　　现在，朝北大厝作为五店市民俗馆，通过布设闽南传统的生产生活器具，展示了一户五世同堂的闽南人家从上世纪30年代到80年代的生活原貌。