Zhaojiabao (Chinese: 趙家堡, literally ’Zhao family castle’) is fortified family residence located in Zhangpu County (漳浦), Fujian Province (福建), China. The construction of Zhaojiabao began in 1600, the enclosing wall is around 5 meters tall in average.
It is said that a party of Southern Song (宋) royals in flight from the Mongol invaders of the late 13th century built Zhaojiabao here but still stayed low in profile.
The construction of Zhaojiabao imitated the old capital of Song Empire, now there are around 700 residents surnamed Zhao living in Zhaojiabao, all of them are royal descendants.
Due to their royal background, the residents of Zhaojiabao value education and produce many scholars and even top scorers (狀元).
According to the regulations of Ching (清) Dynasty, top scorers could erect stone monuments to reveal their honors. Unfortunately, like Song Dynasty, the monuments cannot stand forever, most of them have collapsed.
