Immersive Travel Guide to the Wang Family Courtyard, the Forbidden City of Shanxi

Immersive Travel Guide to the Wang Family Courtyard, the Forbidden City of Shanxi The world is full of changes, leaving behind the first mansion of China! "Wang is a surname, the surname is half a country, the family is a courtyard, the courtyard is half a city." After visiting the Wang Family Courtyard in Jinzhong, Shanxi, you will not want to see any other courtyards. The Wang Family Courtyard is a microcosm and representative of the Jin Merchant courtyards. In the early Ming Dynasty, Wang Shi initially lived in Jingsheng Village, working as a farmhand. Later, he became a self-sufficient farmer and saved some money, so he built a house in Zhangjia Alley, Jingsheng. From the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, the Wang family became prominent officials and merchants and began large-scale construction of houses. By the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, the Wang family had declined. The Wang Family Courtyard was built over 300 years and 28 generations during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The courtyard faces south and has 123 courtyards and 1,118 rooms, earning it the titles of "The First Mansion of Chinese Folk Residences," "The Folk Forbidden City of China," and "The Forbidden City of Shanxi." According to Wang family historical records, when the Wang family built the five fortresses of Hongmen Fort, Gaojia Cliff Fort, Xibaozi, Southeast Fort, and Xianan Fort, they constructed important scenic spots based on the auspicious symbols of "Dragon, Phoenix, Tiger, Tortoise, and Qilin": · Gaojia Cliff Fort consists of 35 courtyards, including the East and West main courtyards, large, medium, and small academies, East and West kitchen courtyards, flower courtyards, East, Middle, and West surrounding courtyards, and a field courtyard, with a total of 342 rooms. The Gaojia Cliff architectural complex was built by the 17th generation descendants of the Wang family, Wang Rucong and Wang Rucheng, during the Jiajing period, taking 16 years to complete. · Hengzhen Fort is located on the west side of the north slope of Jingsheng Village. Because the fort gate is red, it is commonly known as Hongmen Fort. The fort is a regular rectangle, 139 meters wide from east to west and 180 meters long from north to south, covering an area of 25,000 square meters.