Formerly named Wenhai Academy, Xuehai Academy now serves as the Gaos' family hall. A family hall is the place where family members discuss important matters, and thus it is pivotal to any traditional Chinese family. Xuehai Academy's front room was used as a classroom, and its back room was used as a worship room. The left and the right rooms were student dormitories. In the old days, academies provided formal schooling and thus they were sanctuaries for educators and learners. Both teachers and students would live in academies and the teachers focused much on cultivating students' morality, not just book knowledge. This is much different from modern education which is known for teaching by subjects.
During the Japanese Rule, the Japanese occupied deserted places and sold many of them. The Gaos discovered that the academy is blessed with good Feng Shui, and it would be a waste if the place were sold at a cheap price or demolished. Therefore, they purchased the academy and used it as a family hall.
There are a pair of flags with funnels in front of the hall - only certified imperial scholars had the right to raise such flags. The same rule applies to the hall's sparrow-shaped roofs. "Sparrows flying to the south" are considered auspicious in southern Chinese culture. One cannot find any sparrow-shaped roofs at the Forbidden City because it is situated in northern China.
The roof decorations were taken from colorful bowls—these little mosaic figures are very beautiful. The moon-shaped bronze roof tiles can only be found in officials' residences and temples. According to a traditional belief, "the sky is round and the earth is square." Thus, the bottom of the hall's door is square and its top is round. The pillars in the lobby are round; the other pillars in the hall are square.