Shanxi | "The world is full of changes, leaving behind the grandest of houses in China"

Wang Family Courtyard is located in Jingsheng Town, Lingshi County, Jinzhong, Shanxi, built by the Jingsheng Wang family over the course of more than 300 years during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It covers a total area of 250,000 square meters, with five lanes, six forts, and one street, and its scale indeed qualifies it as a folk Forbidden City. Wang Family Courtyard is divided into two parts 🔸 The Gaojiaya building complex and the Hongmenbao building complex. 🔸 Gaojiaya was built by two brothers of the seventeenth generation of the Jingsheng Wang family, consisting of 35 courtyards, each with both independent and shared courtyards, interconnected by 65 doors, which is very interesting. 🔸 Hongmenbao is built against the mountain, resembling a fortress, with one main lane and three cross lanes in the middle, and four layers of courtyards arranged symmetrically from low to high on the left and right, forming a neat 'Wang' character shape. The stone carvings, wood carvings, and brick carvings of Wang Family Courtyard are very exquisite, and a lot of thought has been put into them, incorporating ancestral teachings, family instructions, wishes, and blessings into every corner of the courtyard, with each image having a meaning and auspicious wishes, constantly reminding the Wang family descendants to strive for improvement. Wang Family Courtyard reveals the strictness and rules of a wealthy household, with order among the young and old, and distinction between men and women; the master lives in the main house, children in the side houses; with front halls and back bedrooms, and plaques over the doors, couplets in the halls. However, the layout and architecture of each courtyard are very similar, and walking inside is like being in a maze. Wang Family Courtyard Location: Wang Family Courtyard, Jingsheng Town, Lingshi County, Jinzhong, Shanxi Opening hours: Opens at 8:00, and entry stops at 17:40 🎫 Ticket price: Peak season (April–October) 55 RMB/person ; Off-season (November–March) 35 RMB/person ; 📸 Photography tips 🔹 The best photo spot is the Dingjia Garden 🔹 From the Dingjia Garden, you can climb up the Hongmenbao city wall for a classic shot of the Wang Family Courtyard, and also capture the Gaojiaya building complex 🔹 Near the Chongningbao side, the rooftop position of Hongmenbao is a good spot for photos