by Yan Wenchen

The Qiao Family Compound is located at Qiaojiabao, Qi’xian County in central Shanxi Province, some 64 kilometers away from the capital city of Taiyuan. Known as a folk culture museum and a major tourist attraction for its typical Shanxi folk architecture from the Qing dynasty today, it was originally the residence of a powerful local businessman that was built and extended over a span of almost two centuries, starting during Emperor Qianlong’s reign in 1755.¹ The compound now covers an area of 10642.4 square meters, with six major courtyard complexes and twenty smaller courtyards nestled within, consisting of 313 rooms altogether.² The overall layout of the castle-like compound looks like the Chinese character 喜喜 (“double-happiness”) in birds-eye-view (Fig. 1).³ Although it was finished over a long period of time, the architectural style displays a remarkable level of consistency and harmony.

The main entrance to the compound faces the east, with an east-west running corridor of 80 meters long dividing the compound into a northern and southern section with three major courtyards aligned on each side, and the family ancestral hall at the western end of the corridor. The northeast corner, called the Old Yard, is the oldest part of the compound, which was extended westward and southward over the years (Fig.1).

Apart from its architectural grandeur resulted from the general layout and scale, the compound is also known for its rich collection of building techniques and details, including elaborate latticework and carvings in wood, brick and masonry, as well as its many plaques and couplets seen everywhere inside the compound (Figs. 2 & 3). Even the some 140 chimneys on the rooftops are all a bit different from one another.⁴

Qiaojia Dayuan was deserted at the beginning of the Anti-Japanese War in 1938 when the family fled to Beijing and Tianjin to escape the raging fires of the war, leaving only some servants to watch the property.⁵ In 1986, the site was transformed into a folk culture museum, exhibiting the local customs of living, dwelling, travelling; festivities and merry-making; and agricultural and trading traditions during the late Qing and early Republican periods. The compound/ museum also served as the main setting for the famous Zhang Yimou film Raise the Red Lantern, which has boosted its notoriety and popularity among tourists from China and around the world.

Sources

1. The factual information of this section comes from Xinhua Net. http://www.sx.xinhuanet.com/lyrx/2005-07/12/content_4623330.htm （accessed August 18, 2010).
2. This piece of information comes from the introduction to the compound inside Qiaojia Dayuan. The online sources cited above and below both give a smaller number for the coverage of the compound.
3. From Shanxi Tourism, 山西省旅游网 http://www.sxly.org/jingqu/showpic.asp?id=120 (accessed August 18, 2010).
4. From Shanxi Tourism, 山西省旅游网 http://www.sxly.org/jingqu/showpic.asp?id=120 (accessed August 18, 2010).
5. Online information from Xinhua net and Shanxi Tourism.

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