Visit the Wang Family Grand Courtyard in Shanxi to witness the world-renowned 'Folk Forbidden City'

The Forbidden City is known for the majesty of the royal family, while the Wang residence is known for the prominence of the Shanxi merchants. The Wang Family Grand Courtyard, which started with selling tofu, was built by the Wang family over 300 years during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It includes five lanes, six forts, and one street, covering a total area of 250,000 square meters, with thousands of rooms. Courtyards connect to courtyards, and houses connect to houses. It is even larger than the Forbidden City and is rightfully called the 'Number One Residence of Chinese Folk Houses'. 🎫Ticket: 50 RMB/person The Wang Family Grand Courtyard only sells joint tickets, which include: Wang Family Grand Courtyard➕Wang Family Estate➕Hongya Canyon➕Gypsum Mountain ⌚Opening hours Wang Family Grand Courtyard: 8:30-16:50 Wang Family Estate: 8:00-16:30 Hongya Canyon: 8:00-16:50 Gypsum Mountain Scenic Area: 8:30-16:00 🌈Tour route Enter through Shilu Fort and exit through Hengzhen Fort, from east to west. When you reach Hengzhen Fort, you can go from low to high to the garden, then climb the surrounding wall to overlook the entire complex, and finally descend along the wall. 🌟Core visiting areas Gaojia Cliff Buildings (Shilu Fort) and Hongmen Fort Buildings (Hengzhen Fort), with a stone bridge connecting the two forts in the middle. ✅Shilu Fort is an official residence, built by the luxurious mansion of the brothers Wang Rucheng and Wang Rucong, who were officials of the fourth and fifth rank respectively, complete with ancestral halls, embroidered buildings, kitchen courtyards, school courtyards, servant courtyards, family courtyards, and flower courtyards, all exquisitely decorated. ✅Hengzhen Fort is a civilian residence, equivalent to a large community for the Wang family. The main alley in the middle and three horizontal alleys form a regular 'Wang' character. The fort has 88 courtyards with simpler decorations. 💟3 major highlights 1️⃣Rigorous layout Layered buildings and courtyards, front halls and rear bedrooms, each layout reveals a hierarchy of respect and order, and a distinction between the inside and outside. In Shilu Fort, the younger brother Wang Rucheng's residence has a wider gate tower due to his higher official rank, but it is not as tall as his brother's. 2️⃣Three-carving art Brick carving, wood carving, and stone carving are rich in themes and auspicious meanings. Taking stone carving as an example, there are carvings representing the 'Twenty-four Filial Exemplars' indicating that filial piety is the most important virtue, seahorses among clouds symbolizing a journey of thousands of miles, bamboo joint carvings on door frames suggesting rising step by step, and stone statues of a large monkey carrying a small monkey symbolizing generations of nobility. 3️⃣Couplets and plaques There are couplets in the halls and plaques on the doors. The number of couplets and plaques and the depth of their content are unique in the culture of Shanxi merchants. One of the plaques bears the four characters '规圆矩方' (circular rules and square norms), with an extra dot under the character '矩' (norm), implying that a little more discipline leads to fewer troubles. 📣Explanation Be sure to listen to the explanations, otherwise, it will be difficult to deeply understand the details and connotations. The guide fee is 120 RMB, and you can join a group. Alternatively, a 30 RMB electronic guide is recommended, with a 100 RMB deposit returned at the exit. It has automatic induction, providing explanations automatically when you reach the corresponding tour area, and also offers tour route suggestions.