It's not that the Qiao Family Courtyard isn't good, but the Qu Family Courtyard offers better value for money

The Qu Family Courtyard, located on Dongda Street in Qixian, Jinzhong City, Shanxi Province, was originally built during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty and has been renovated multiple times. The existing main structures are from the Tongzhi and Guangxu periods of the Qing Dynasty. Back then, the Qu family built 40 courtyards within the city of Qixian. Most of the residences along Dongda Street, Xindao Street, Gaoyuan Gedi, and Duanjia Alley in the eastern half of the ancient city of Qixian belonged to the Qu family. The existing Qu Family Courtyard is only a part of the historical buildings of the Qu family. It was the residence of Qu Yuanchao and Qu Yuangan, covering an area of 5,317 square meters with a construction area of 13,271 square meters. Viewed from above, the Qu Family Courtyard resembles the shape of the character '明'. The 'moon' part on the right forms the five-section courtyard on the east side, the residential courtyard, the opera stage courtyard, and the sedan chair courtyard, while the 'sun' part on the left consists of three quadrangle courtyards and the study courtyard along the western corridor. The entire complex is composed of 8 large courtyards, 19 smaller courtyards, and 240 rooms, with the main courtyard built like a castle. The composition of the Qu Family Courtyard is rich, with clever combinations of railing courtyards, bright tower courtyards, unified tower courtyards, opera stage courtyards, etc., arranged in a well-ordered manner. The rooftops have various shapes, including hip-and-gable roofs, suspended roofs, rolled eaves roofs, and hard roofs. There are tall arched gateways with exquisite watchtowers above. Between the courtyards, there are archways and passageways, with bright towers and unified towers creating a rich transitional spatial form. The Qu Family Courtyard is a microcosm of the entire Jin merchant culture. It preserves a large amount of folk, historical, and artistic information, reflecting profound cultural characteristics and containing deep and complex cultural accumulations. For tourists, the ticket for the Qiao Family Courtyard is 115 yuan, and it's overcrowded; the ticket for the three courtyards of the Qu Family Courtyard is only 16 yuan, and it's basically empty, offering an excellent tourism experience.