Chinese Stone Archway (Paifang) Buying Guide: Sizes, Design & Shipping

What Exactly Is a Paifang?

A paifang (牌坊) is a traditional Chinese memorial archway — a gated structure of columns, beams and tiered roofs carved from marble or granite. It marks temple entrances, villages, ancestral halls, parks and Chinatown districts, and carries deep symbolism of honor, prestige and welcome. For overseas buyers, archways range from compact 3-meter garden gates to ceremonial 15m+ structures with three or five openings.

Size & Structure: Bays, Spans and Height

Archways are described by bays (openings) and span. A one-bay archway with a single opening suits a garden or private courtyard; three-bay and five-bay designs mark grander temple or village entrances. Span drives everything downstream — the size of the beams, the weight of each block, and the engineering for assembly. Specify your clear opening width, overall height, and whether a flat or tiered (multi-roof) top is required.

Carving Density Drives the Price

Two archways of identical size can differ enormously in price because of carving density. A simple polished arch with clean lines is far more economical than one covered in dragons, phoenixes, floral reliefs, calligraphy panels and dougong brackets. When requesting a quote, attach a photo or sketch of the decoration level you want — or state 'simple' / 'medium' / 'elaborate' — so the workshop prices the carving hours accurately.

Marble vs Granite for Outdoor Archways

Marble (white, gray, or black) is the classic choice for its luminous, fine-grained carving detail and traditional look. Granite is harder, denser and more weather-resistant — the practical choice for coastal, humid or heavily polluted climates, and for monuments expected to stand for centuries. Granite costs more per block and is slower to carve, but needs little maintenance once erected.

How Archways Are Built & Assembled

Large archways are not shipped as one piece. Each is carved block-by-block with traditional mortise-and-tenon joints, numbered, and packed into reinforced crates. On site, a crane erects the columns, beams and roof tiers following a numbered assembly drawing. Your supplier should provide that drawing and, for ceremonial projects, can send a technician to supervise installation (visa and travel quoted separately).

Lead Time & What to Prepare

A standard 6–8m marble archway typically takes 45–60 days depending on carving density, before packing and shipping. Prepare your dimensions, design reference, stone choice, and destination port. Quyang factories are hours from Tianjin Port, so FOB Tianjin is the standard term — and the short inland leg keeps trucking and damage risk low.

Requesting an Accurate Quote

Send the opening width, overall height, number of bays, stone type, decoration level, and site photos if you have them. With those five details a Quyang workshop can quote precisely — and you avoid the vague, inflated estimates that come from under-specified archway inquiries.

Browse marble archway (paifang) projects and sizes.