The Qiao Family Compound, originally the Zaizhong Hall and officially is a
courtyard house
A courtyard house is a type of house—often a large house—where the main part of the building is disposed around a central courtyard. Many houses that have courtyards are not courtyard houses of the type covered by this article. For example, la ...
located in
Qi County,
Jinzhong Prefecture
Jinzhong, formerly Yuci, is a prefecture-level city in east central Shanxi province of the People's Republic of China, bordering Hebei province to the east.
As of the 2020 census, its total population was 3,379,498 inhabitants whom 1,226,617 ...
,
Shanxi Province
Shanxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, approximately northeast of
Pingyao. It is the residential compound of well-known financier
Qiao Zhiyong (乔致庸/喬致庸, 1818—1907), who was the most famous member of the Qiao family. Construction began in 1756 during the reign of the
Qianlong Emperor
The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1735 t ...
in the
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
and was completed sometime in the 18th century. The estate covers 9000 square meters and has 313 rooms with 4000 square meters within 6 large courtyards and 19 smaller courtyards.
Architects consider it to be one of the finest remaining examples of imposing private residences in northern China. It has been converted into a museum and has many period furnishings.
It is famous for being the chief location in the
Zhang Yimou
Zhang Yimou (; born 2 April 1950) is a Chinese film director, producer, writer, actor and former cinematographer.Tasker, Yvonne (2002). "Zhang Yimou" i''Fifty Contemporary Filmmakers'' Routledge Publishing, p. 412. . Google Book Search. Retriev ...
film ''
Raise the Red Lantern
''Raise the Red Lantern'' is a 1991 film directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Gong Li. It is an adaptation by of the 1990 novella '' Raise the Red Lantern'' (originally ''Wives and Concubines'') by Su Tong. The film was later adapted into an ...
''. A 2006 Chinese television series, ''
Qiao's Grand Courtyard'', was also shot here.
See also
* ''
Siheyuan
A ''siheyuan'' (; IPA: ɹ̩̂.xɤ̌.ɥɛ̂n is a historical type of residence that was commonly found throughout China, most famously in Beijing and rural Shanxi. Throughout Chinese history, the siheyuan composition was the basic pattern used ...
''
*
Shanxi courtyard houses The courtyard houses of Shanxi or the Shanxi family compounds are located in Jinzhong, Shanxi Province, People's Republic of China, approximately 500 km south of Beijing. "These castle-like structures were constructed in the Qing dynasty by loc ...
References
External links
{{Commons category, Qiao Family Compound
Travel China on Qiao's compound
Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Shanxi
Traditional folk houses in China
Houses completed in the 18th century
Jinzhong