Yangliuqing () is a market town in

Xiqing District Xiqing District () is a district in Tianjin, People's Republic of China. History The current Xiqing area came into existence in the mid and late Tang dynasty. In Northern Song (Song dynasty) period, this area was the border of Song and Liao (Liao ...

, in the western suburbs of

Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popu ...

, People's Republic of China. Despite its relatively small size, it has been named since 2006 in the "famous historical and cultural market towns in China". It is best known in China for creating

nianhua A New Year picture () is a popular Banhua in China. It is a form of colored woodblock print, used for decoration and the performance of rituals during the Chinese New Year Holiday. In the 19th and 20th centuries some printers began to use the ...

or Yangliuqing nianhua. For more than 400 years, Yangliuqing has in effect specialised in the creation of these

woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas tha ...

s for the

New Year New Year is the time or day currently at which a new calendar year begins and the calendar's year count increments by one. Many cultures celebrate the event in some manner. In the Gregorian calendar, the most widely used calendar system ...

. wood block prints using vivid colourschemes to portray traditional scenes of children's games often interwoven with auspiciouse objects. , it had 27 residential communities () and 25 villages under its administration.

Shi Family Grand Courtyard

Shi Family Grand Courtyard () is situated in Yangliuqing Town of

, which is the former residence of wealthy merchant Shi Yuanshi - the 4th son of

Shi Wancheng Shi Wancheng (; ; born on 13 August 1990 in Harbin) is a Chinese snowboarder. 2010 Winter Olympics He competed at the 2010 Winter Olympics in the Halfpipe A half-pipe is a structure used in gravity extreme sports such as snowboarding, skate ...

, one of the eight great masters in

. First built in 1875, it covers over 6,000 square meters, including large and small yards and over 200 folk houses, a theater and over 275 rooms that served as apartments and places of business and worship for this powerful family. Shifu Garden, which finished its expansion in October 2003, covers 1,200 square meters, incorporates the elegance of imperial garden and delicacy of south garden. Now the courtyard of Shi family covers about 10,000 square meters, which is called the first mansion in North China. Now it serves as the folk custom museum in Yangliuqing, which has a large collection of folk custom museum in Yanliuqing, which has a large collection of folk art pieces like Yanliuqing New Year pictures, brick sculpture. Shi's ancestor came from Dong'e County in

Shandong Province Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizatio ...

, engaged in water transport of grain. As the wealth gradually accumulated, the Shi Family moved to Yangliuqing and bought large tracts of land and set up their residence. Shi Yuanshi came from the fourth generation of the family, who was a successful businessman and a good household manager, and the residence was thus enlarged for several times until it acquired the present scale. It is believed to be the first mansion in the west of Tianjin. The residence is symmetric based on the axis formed by a passageway in the middle, on which there are four

arch An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vau ...

ways. On the east side of the courtyard, there are traditional single-story houses with rows of rooms around the four sides, which was once the living area for the Shi Family. The rooms on north side were the accountants' office. On the west are the major constructions including the family hall for worshipping Buddha, theater and the south reception room. On both sides of the residence are side yard rooms for maids and servants. Today, the Shi mansion, located in the township of Yangliuqing to the west of central Tianjin, stands as a surprisingly well-preserved monument to China's pre-revolution mercantile spirit. It also serves as an on-location shoot for many of China's popular historical dramas. Many of the rooms feature period furniture, paintings and calligraphy, and the extensive Shifu Garden. Part of the complex has been turned into the

Yangliuqing Museum Yangliuqing () is a market town in Xiqing District, in the western suburbs of Tianjin, People's Republic of China. Despite its relatively small size, it has been named since 2006 in the "famous historical and cultural market towns in China". It i ...

, which includes displays focused on symbolic aspects of the

courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary ...

s' construction, local folk art and customs, and traditional period furnishings and crafts.

References

{{reflist * http://arts.cultural-china.com/en/65Arts4795.html Towns in Tianjin

Shi Family Grand Courtyard

See also

References