Residence of a shanxi Businessman
4 min readUnlike the villages and towns we visited on the countryside tour above, this estate only has one household, but the importance of this household cannot be compared with that of an ordinary town or village.
The grand courtyard of Qiao Family was formerly the private residence of the very wealthy Qiao family who were members of the business class of Shanxi and is located in theexact center of Qiaojiapu village in Qixian County of Shanxi Province. The estate covers a total area of 8, 724 square meters, 3, 870 of which are occupied by buildings. It is divided into 6 main courtyards further divided into 20 smaller courtyards containing 313 rooms Looking at the estate from the air it can be seen that the arrangement forms an auspicious double happiness Chinese character. The estate is a completely enclosed group of buildings in the form of a bunker. Three sides adjoin streets and all four sides are enclosed behind brick walls that are over 10 meters tall, at the top of which are daughter walls with lookout windows to hide behind and maintain a lookout in case of attack to ensure security and give the outside an imposing appearance. the grand courtyard of Qiao Family is well designed and well built, and fully reflects the unique style of Qing dynasty residential buildings. It is an incomparable architectural treasure that experts and scholars call “a bright pear l among northern residential buildings and others praise it g, “See the Forbidden City to see how the royal family lived and see the grand courtyard of Qiao Family to see a fine example of how common people lived.
There are three large courtyards at the northern end of the estate, from east to west called the old courtyard, northwest courtyard and study courtyard in accordance with tradition. The three large courtyards at the southern end are called the southeast courtyard, the southwest courtyard, and new courtyard. The names of the six courtyards at the two ends of the estate indicate the order of the buildings. a perfectly straight stone paved path 80 meters in length divides the courtyards into a southern row and a northern row. The ends of the paths where they meet the outer wall are protected by small hills Each courtyard has 4 main buildings, gatehouse, night guard tower, and six lookout pavilions. all the rooms are connected by a path on the roof for the use of guard patrols The grand courtyard of Qiao Family is famous worldwide, not only for the grand and imposing appearance of the buildings in the estate, but even more for the excellent workmanship evident in every brick, tile, stone, and piece of wood. Moreover, there are engraved bricks, wood carvings, and paintings to be seen throughout the six large courtyards Looking at the overall appearance, the estate appears grand and imposing, well ordered with a strict arrangement and carefully considered architecture is at once static and dynamic. Not only is the overall appearance aesthetically pleasing, but each building also has its own unique character.The more than 140 chimneys on the buildings each have their own unique style.All the pavilions，platforms，buildings，and raised pavilions throughout the estate have engraved beams，painted posts，and other eloquent decorations fullydemonstrating the fine craftsmanship of the working people of ancient China.A more valuable example of this is nowhere to be found.
Construction on the grand courtyard of Qiao Family began in the 20th year of the reign of the Qing Emperor Qianlong（1756）and has since been enlarged twice and renovated once Nearly two centuries passed between the time construction began and the time it attained its current appearance.Although this is a long period of time，the estate has retained it original character through enlargement and renovation The overall character of the estate is uniform despite the mixture of styles.
In 1985 the Qixian County Peoples government turned this ancient residence into the Qixian County Museum of ethnic Customs，which officially opened to the public on November 1，1986.The museum displays over 5，000 valuable relics to provide a concise picture of the folk customs of central Shanxi.They include rural customs，the rites and ceremonies oflife，climatic conditions，clothing，dietary and housing habits，ways of doing commerce and folk handicrafts.Also on display are historical documents concerning the Qiao family Qiao family jewelry，and special topic video displays.Over 8 million foreign and domestic visitors have passed through the museums doors since it opened The movie raise the red Lantern High directed by Zhang Yimou further increased the fame of the grand courtyard of Qiao Family.
