A shoulder pole tells the struggling history of a grassroots entrepreneur.
A courtyard records the rise and fall of a renowned family.
A love story carries a Chinese and Western romantic history;
A relief pot is engraved with a hundred years of good deeds.
The Lee Family Courtyard with a history of nearly two hundred years has become a beautiful scenic spot and a miracle by the vicissitudes of life. It shows its unique charm and represents a rich and colorful history of the development of Shanxi merchants' culture with grace and grandeur.
Lee Family Grand Courtyard is a national key cultural relic protection unit, national AAAA level tourist attraction, one of China's top ten most potential residential buildings, and one of Shanxi's top ten scenic spot with a good impression. It is a unique giant commercial mansion in the south of Shanxi Province. It was built in Daoguang Period of Qing Dynasty. There are 20 groups of original courtyards, 11 groups of existing courtyards, and other ancestral halls and gardens. The whole building is a shaft-type quadrangle. Overlooking the whole picture, the traditional quadrangles gather wind and luck, and the big exquisite gates are connected to the sky while grounding to the earth; the Hui-style buildings are well arranged, the European style modeling is elegant, the north and the south are connected, and the Chinese and the Western tradition blend up, it is a unique existence in Chinese residential buildings.
Entering Lee's courtyard, you can see the good screen wall, good calligraphy, good plaque, good plaque and good couplets everywhere. The ten leaders of the three generations of the Lee family have done good deeds through a hundred years, leaving a precious spiritual legacy of "conducting good deeds without considering the influence and how much one give, without an end, without hesitation and without repaying". So far, it still has been lived up to. This is the reason why the Lee family rose in the Qing Dynasty. Today's Lee Family courtyard is not only a cultural relic scenic spot, but also a "living textbook" for the charity culture of the Chinese nation.
Walking into Lee's courtyard and strolling in it, the breeze is warm and the air is enjoyable. It seems to be sunk in auspiciousness: the traditional folk buildings in ancient style, the old streets with buildings with pillars and ornaments on the rooftop lined aside, the exquisite brick, wood and stone carvings, the countless couplets and plaques, the beautiful sceneries of Jiangnan reflecting the mountains and lakes, the good deeds of people passed on from one to another, and the architectural style integrating the north and the south, and combining the east and the west, are all satisfactory to tourists, surprising them again and again.
With its profound cultural connotation and unique cultural relics, Lee Family Courtyard is showing its eternal charm to Chinese and foreign tourists...
[Antique City]
The antique city is invested and built by Lee Family Courtyard scenic area development and management center of Yuncheng City, covering an area of more than 10000 square meters, with 54 shops and more than 300 stalls. After several years of development, the market is now full of ancient wood furniture, all kinds of carvings, coins and stone tools, with abundant supply, antique style and good quality. In particular, it’s famous for paleolithic trading throughout the country, thus getting the title from its peer: "northern China's largest stone collection market"!
[Lee Family Development History Exhibition Hall]
The exhibition hall is rebuilt on the old Jie Temple. Entering the gate, four halls are arranged on the central axis in turn. The four corridors are connected in the courtyard. The Development History of the Lee Family Exhibition is on display in the main building. The exhibition consists of two parts and nine units, which are divided into eight exhibition rooms. The exhibition area covers 780.08 square meters and the exhibition line is as long as 281.5 meters. It shows the development of the Lee family, which is a self-made, hard-working and wealthy family, and explores the secrets of success of the Lee family, which are based on sincerity and well management. There are more than 380 physical objects, more than 400 photos, charts and paintings, more than 200 cultural relics per set, and 4 scenes on display.
[Lee Family Charity Exhibition Hall]
The exhibition area covers 775.69 square meters and the exhibition line is 339.31 meters long. In the form of scene sculpture with three-dimensional images, it shows the stories of the Lee family's ancestors who were generous and benevolent. According to the scope of good deeds, the exhibition is divided into four parts: "generous in disaster relief", "devotion to justice and public welfare", "helping the poor, befriending the neighbors", "promoting benevolence and caring for the villagers". Arranged in chronological order, it fully embodies the succession of the charitable characteristics of Lee's family from generation to generation, the constant kindness, the good reputation earned from both the officials and the people. There are more than 50 pictures and charts on display, 230 square meters of scenic painting and more than 80 sculpture figures.
[Twelve-Face Brick Screen Wall]
The Twelve-Face Brick Screen Wall is located opposite to the gate of the charity exhibition hall. It is a relatively complete and unique screen wall preserved after restoration. Lee family built it here to show that there are 12 months in a year, and to solicit bless for safety in all seasons, wealth and auspiciousness from all directions, and long life span. The brick carving patternscarry rich cultural meanings and are presented in exquisite carving techniques.
The rise of Shanxi merchants has promoted the development of architectural art such as screen walls. With abundant financial resources, brick carvers were given full play, and more folk craftsmen joined the industry, thus creating a large number of exquisite screen walls. The construction level of the screen walls reflects the identity, status and ambition of the house owners.
[Gongde Hall]
Gongde Hall is located at the end of the avenue. A brick screen wall with a height of 6.8 meters and a width of 11.6 meters is erected in the front, depicting the content of "Qilin stepping on eight treasures" in the middle, "crane and deer standing for spring" on the left, "pine and crane standing for long life span “on the right. Behind the screen wall is a three-room single building in the early Qing Dynasty style. There are two steles in the room, one is Lee Gongchang's Five Virtues and the other is Li Gong's Reflecting on My Virtues.
[Ziming Hall]
This courtyard is the residence of the 15th generation Lee Daohang, the son of Lee Jingxiu,whose Zi is Ziyong. In 1907, he was sent by Shanxi provincial government to study in Britain. After graduating in 1914 and returning to China, he built this hall 50 meters northwest to the original Lee family courtyard. It is composed of a row of pavilions, brick caves and the Sangxing Platform. The factors such as lighting, sight, activity space and geographical situation are fully considered in the construction, thus forming a totally different style from the traditional quadrangle in northern China. The gate in the west of the courtyard, the high, straight and sharp "Gothic" architectural style, show the architectural concept of the courtyard combining the western and oriental style.
[Baishan Screen Wall]
It is a unique screen wall in China. On the screen wall are the characters of "good" written from Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing to modern times. There are 100 different ways of writing, each with its own characteristics.
The Qiao family values fame, the Wang family courtyard, and the Lee family charity. There are 365 “good” characters on the screen wall, which is to remind future generations of conducting good deeds 365 days a year.
[Tongshun Hall]
The courtyard was founded in the 20th year of the Republic of China. It is located at the west end of the south side of the lane way, with the gate facing north. It is a three-entry courtyard. Its owner is Wang Hejun, a legendary woman of the Lee family. Wang Hejun was proficient in medical skills. Although she was only a primary school student, she was dexterous, had excellent memory and could play abacus with both hands. After her husband died, she ran the business of Lee's South Courtyard with Lee Dafu. At that time, she was only 26 years old! The Nanshan wall in this courtyard is not different from the ordinary wall on the surface. In fact, it is more than one meter thick from the outer face to the window. This is the unique "sandwich wall" of the Lee family. From the second floor, it’s able to go inside the mezzanine wall, which is used to store valuables, equivalent to our modern "safe".
[Tongfu Hall]
This courtyard is a three-way quadrangle with narrow front and wide back, which means gathering fortune. The gate imitated the European Gothic architecture, but the brick carving pattern on its surface is the typical folk culture and art of south Shanxi. These exquisite brick carvings symbolize the psychological characteristics of southern Shanxi people in pursuit of wealth and peace, multiple sons and blessings, as well as happiness and longevity. The building materials of the courtyard are extremely exquisite. The second is that the beam of the south house is the thickest of the existing courtyards, thanks to the heyday of the Lee family's business at that time. All the timber used for construction is pure northeast pine wood. They hired people to stay in the northeast forest area all year round, and shipped the timber to their hometown until the construction was completed.
[Xinpu Hall]
Xinpu Hall is the most complete courtyard with traditional culture of the Lee family courtyards. Lee Daorong, the owner of the house, was educated by his father Lee Jinglun (called "Wen Ru") since he was a child. His calligraphy, talent, cultivation, and conduct all demonstrate the family culture, forming the unique cultural characteristics of the house. The gatehouse is a two-story attic style building, with ear rooms on the left and right, two rafters in depth, single eave hard on top, and no arch under the eaves. The second-floor loft is facing south with a drying platform, which makes up for the lack of orientation of the courtyard. It can be used to dry clothes and bedding, which is a major feature of the courtyard. The second major feature of the courtyard is the design of the mezzanine wall of the east wing of the landlord. Different from the mezzanine wall of Room No. 1 and 2 in Daonan Courtyard, the east wall of the east wing is a mezzanine wall stretching 20 meters from south to north, which is one meter thick. And it not only can be used to store secret treasure, but also serve as a shelter for people.
[Private School]
The private school was built by the Lee family for the education of future generations. It was built in the 24th year of the Republic of China (1935 A.D.). The courtyard is divided into east gate building, main chamber, and east chamber and moon gate. The round gate of the private school (wood-imitation brick archway) is a classic piece of work among the ancient courtyards of the Lee family. As the 16th generation of "Da" generation Lee Dafu studied in Japan, the door adopts Japanese push-pull type wooden door, with exquisite decoration and design, which saves space and can be opened and closed freely. The seven floors of the gate building are made of carved hollow bricks and glazed materials. They are gorgeous, exquisite, vivid in shape, smooth in line, beautiful in pattern, superb in craftsmanship and technique, and reach the state of perfection. They show the traditional culture of South Shanxi incisively and vividly, which is a masterpiece of traditional residential buildings.
[Relief Building]
With the stairs beside the east gate building of the private school leading to the roof, the building is the "house watching building" of the Lee family, where a special guard team stationed. The guard team not only looked after the safety of the Lee family, but also served as the escort of the escort agency, and also took charge of the security of Yanjing Village. At that time, when Lee's family set up a porridge stall to provide meals, all the villagers in Xuedian Village and Yanjing Village made a register. When the bell rang, the villagers brought their bowls and chopsticks. There was no limit to three meals until they were full. Since this is where the bell rang, people called it the "relief building".
[Tongde Hall]
This courtyard is the residence of Lee Daosheng, the 15th generation of "Dao" generation. This house was founded in the 10th year of the Republic of China. It is the best in the Lee family's yard group. In particular, except for the exquisite iron art on the door, there are six secret designs for the entrance and exit of the door. Back then, the door was extremely safe and secure. In addition, the fire walls are built between the courtyards above the gate building, which draws upon the horse head wall scattered in the Hui style buildings. These fire walls, one after another, stretchthrough six courtyards from north to south. While enhancing the security, they also make the layout of the courtyards clearer and add a sense of hierarchy and rhythm to the ancient residential buildings.
[Plaque of "Bo Shi Ji Zhong (charity)"]
In the 17th (1928) and 18th (1929)year of the Republic of China, there was a severe drought in Shanxi Province with no harvest in autumn, no planting of wheat, no indoor rats, but countless of dead people. The situation in southern Shanxi Province was the most serious. It cost 4 silver coins to get one “dou” (approximately 6.5kg) of wheat. In winter, it was extremely cold again, freezing countless cattle and sheep to death. People around are hungry for food. Lee Daosheng, Lee Daoxing, Lee Daozai, Lee Daorong, Lee Daolin and the other brothers of the Lee family discussed about the relief and decided to spare no efforts to rescue the victims. 1000 silver coins was given to each of the 17 counties in the disaster area in Hedong, 10000 silver coins was donated to Hedong Drought Relief Association, and the special relief of 4000 silver coins and 2000 silver coins was provided respectively to this county, this village and origins of Xuedian Village. And in the Temple of Xuedian Village, Yanjing Village Ancestral Temple, Yunchengchi Temple, porridge stalls were set to distribute food, so that many people survived. At that time, all the villagers in Xuedian Village and Yanjing Village made a register. When the bell rang, the villagers brought their own bowls and chopsticks there. With no limits to the three meals every day, they got enough to eat. It was after the autumn harvest of the second year when every household had food to eat that the food distributing stalls were dismissed. Through this serious disaster, no one in Yanjing Village and Xuedian Village starved to death, and no households sold their property for surviving. County heads in Hedong asked the government for recognition of Lee’s generosity. At that time, Yan Xishan, the president of Shanxi provincial government, issued a plaque with “Bo Shi Ji Zhong (charity)” on for the Lee family to show his praise and honor. Besides, he wrote a letter to the national government as well. The previous county magistrate of Wanquan also awarded Lee family witha plaque with "Le Shan Hao Shi (charity)" on.
[Lee's Ancestral Hall]
The Ancestral Hall of Lee family is the oldest of the existing courtyard complex. It is located in the southeast of the old courtyard building complex, echoing and integrated with the quadrangle building. It is a two-entry courtyard layout. The temple is made of rich materials and in strict structure. It is attached with exquisite wood, stone and brick carvings. It is used to sacrifice ancestors every year and receive fellow people from other places to worship.
[Back Garden]
In the back garden, there are two man-made lakes in the east and the west. In Donggou, there are fruit trees such as grapes, apples, pears, dates and peaches. There are also 40 brick caves for tourists to rest, covering a total area of nearly 100 acres. There are always flowing waterfalls, rippling green waves, waterside pavilions, singing birds and fragrant flowers. When we climb up the 28-meter-high Jinghang Building, we can have a panoramic view of Lee's courtyard, which is relaxing and enjoyable.
[Flower Wall]
There is a circle of flower walls on the top of the Lee Ziyong Courtyard. Although it is only made of ordinary bricks and tiles, each group of patterns is self-contained, without repetition, simple and elegant, beautiful and generous. Experts from China Architecture Society remarked that this wall was unique in China after field research.
It is said that when Lee Daoxing built the house, he hired two construction teams in particular, composed of only workers who were starving and destitute. He also required that the mud used for construction should be sieved and the foundation of the house should be compacted with red clay. The standard was to make a round pit with rammerand put water into it to see whether the water infiltrate the next day. And if it didn’t, then acceptance checked. Many people didn't understand, saying that it cost money and delayed the construction. Lee Daoxing said, "it’s just several more meals to provide and a bit more money to give, they don't eat or get paid for nothing!” In fact, Lee Daoxing did so to secretly aid the poor. So the craftsmen of the two teams were very grateful to him, they competed secretly to show their talents in architecture, and built the delicate flower wall we see now.
Address:
Yanjing Village, Wanrong County, Yuncheng City
Website:
www.sxljdy.com
Wechat ID.:
ljdy88
Opening hours:
Summer: 8:00-18:00; winter: 8:00-17:00
Traffic guide:
For friends from Taiyuan to come to Lee's courtyard in Yuncheng:
Automobile:on DayünExpressway for about 360 kilometers → enter Wenhe Expressway at the exit of Wanrong → turn to Lee family courtyard at the intersection of Wenhe Expressway and Heyun Expressway → arrive at the exit of Yanjing
Bus: take Yuncheng--Hejin bus at Yuncheng central passenger station and get off at the intersection of Lee’scourtyard
For friends from Zhengzhou and Luoyang to come to Lee's courtyard in Yuncheng:
Automobile: Lianhuo Expressway → Sanmenxia City → transfer to YunsanExpressway → Dayün Expressway → Yunfeng Expressway → transfer from Linyi and Hejinkou to Heyun Expressway → Yanjing exit
Bus: take Yuncheng--Hejin bus at Yuncheng central passenger station and get off at the intersection of Lee family courtyard
For friends from Xi'an to come to Lee's courtyard in Yuncheng:
Automobile:
Route 1: Xitong Expressway →Qindong exit of Tongguan → Yellow River Bridge → Yunfeng Expressway → from the exit of Linyi and Hejin to Heyun Expressway →exit of Yanjing
Route 2: along Xiyu Expressway → Hancheng, cross the Yellow River Bridge → Hejin → (transfer to Heyun Expressway and get off from Yanjing exit) from Hejin to National Highway No. 209, take the direction to Yuncheng city →Yanjing exit
Bus: take Yuncheng--Hejin bus at Yuncheng central passenger station and get off at the intersection of Lee’s courtyard
Admission:
Adult: 60 yuan (from April 1st to October 31st) ; 50 yuan (from November 1st to March 31st)
Tour guide fee: 50 yuan / time (less than 16 people); 60 yuan / time (16 people and above)
Electromobile: 5 yuan / person
Ticket preferential policies:
Free tickets at the gate: (purchase with valid certificate)
Disability certificate (issued by the Central Disabled People's Federation); senior citizens over 60 years old with the elder card or ID card; children under 1.2m in height; officer card (active service), soldier card (active service); press card issued by the General Administration of Public Information
Half-price ticket: (purchase with valid certificate)
Children with height of 1.2m-1.4m or above; college students or primary and secondary school students with valid student certificates (Full-time)
Ticket and consultation hotline:
Consultation hotline: 0359-4823333 / 4823288
Ticket Center Tel: 0359-4823278
Traveling tips:
1. Please prepare ID card, student ID card, senior citizen ID card, officer ID card and other certificates in advance.
2. The speed limit of Yuncheng--Linyi section of National Highway No. 209 is 70km/hand 80km/h. Please drive safely. Safety is the closest path to the scenic spot.
