[2025 Tianjin Attraction] Travel Guide for Courtyard of the An Family (Updated May)

An Family Courtyard in Yangliuqing is a typical traditional northern residential building located in Yangliuqing Town, Xiqing District, Tianjin, featuring the characteristics of a wealthy merchant's residence in the Qing Dynasty. The following is a detailed introduction to An Family Courtyard: 1. Historical Background - Construction Year: An Family Courtyard was built during the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty (approximately mid-19th century) as the residence of the An family, a wealthy merchant in Yangliuqing. - Family Status: The An family was one of the "Eight Great Families" of Yangliuqing, starting with canal transportation and the salt industry, and later venturing into finance and real estate. At its peak, the family owned multiple residences and shops. 2. Architectural Features - Courtyard Layout: The courtyard consists of multiple interconnected courtyards, following a central axis symmetry, and integrates the rigor of northern residential buildings with the delicate decorations of Huizhou architecture. - Brick and Wood Carvings: The gate tower, screen wall, and eaves are decorated with exquisite brick carvings, with themes mostly of auspicious patterns (such as fortune, prosperity, longevity, flowers, birds, and figures); the indoor wood-carved lattice doors and beams are also exquisitely crafted. - Defensive Design: High walls, narrow windows, secret passages, and other details reflect the importance that merchants placed on security during the turbulent times of the late Qing Dynasty. 3. Cultural Value - Yangliuqing New Year Paintings Association: Some courtyards once served as New Year painting workshops, showcasing the folk tradition of "every family paints, every household draws" in Yangliuqing. - Restoration of Life Scenes: The courtyard displays Ming and Qing furniture and daily necessities, recreating the daily life of a merchant family in the late Qing and early Republic of China periods. 4. Visiting Information - Address: Guyi Street, Yangliuqing Town, Xiqing District, Tianjin (near Shijia Courtyard). - Opening Hours: Generally 9:00–17:00 (it is recommended to confirm in advance for seasonal adjustments). - Ticket Price: Approximately CNY 30, often sold as a joint ticket with Shijia Courtyard. - Nearby Attractions: Shijia Courtyard, Yangliuqing New Year Painting Museum, Wenchang Pavilion, etc. 5. Tips - Although An Family Courtyard is not as grand as Shijia Courtyard, it is better in its simplicity and authenticity, with fewer tourists, making it suitable for quiet appreciation. - A guided tour can provide in-depth understanding of the architectural details and the history of the An family's rise and fall. If you would like to know more about a certain aspect (such as architectural details or family stories), feel free to ask me further!

A small ancient town unknown to 99% of tourists Really seriously underestimated 😭 "Little Yangzhou on Gushang" born on the bank of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal Few people, beautiful scenery, simple folk customs, not strong commercial atmosphere Different from the stereotyped artificial ancient town The ancient town's century-old buildings and historical stories will make you fall in love with it again and again . 📮【citywalk route】 Yangliuqing Memorial Archway➠Shijia Courtyard➠Anjia Courtyard➠Yangliuqing New Year Painting Gallery➠Caojia Hutong➠Guandi Temple➠Zaoshu Coffee➠Liuqing Tea Garden➠Yangliuqing Folk Culture Museum . 🏮【❹ must-visit attractions】 1️⃣Shijia Courtyard The national 4A scenic spot is the residence of Shi Yuanshi, one of the eight great families in Tianjin. 2️⃣Yangliuqing New Year Painting Museum The former An's Ancestral Hall, where you can admire a variety of Yangliuqing woodblock New Year paintings 3️⃣Anjia Courtyard This is the residence of An Wenzhong, the leader of the Gan Daying Camp. It is a typical courtyard house in the north. 4️⃣Yangliuqing Folk Culture Museum It is divided into 6 exhibition areas, with Yangliuqing New Year paintings as the main theme, recreating the prosperous scene of Yangliuqing Ancient Town and the life of the market. . 📸【❻ photo booths for great movies】 1️⃣Yangliuqing Archway (Figure 1) 2️⃣ Moon Gate of Shijia Courtyard (Figure 3) 3️⃣Shijiayuan Theater (Figure 5) 4️⃣Caojia Hutong (Figure 7) 5️⃣ Hundred Blessings: Beside Caojia Hutong (Figure 14) 6️⃣Date Tree Coffee (Figure 15) . 🧨【❹Little things worth experiencing】 1️⃣Come to this "blessed place, auspicious town" to pray for blessings 🙏 Take a photo with the 100 blessings to collect blessings, and the new year will definitely be full of blessings 🧧 2️⃣Take a group of photos in the Shijia Courtyard similar to the movie "Master" 3️⃣Go to Yangliuqing New Year Painting Museum to feel the charm of folk customs and experience the fun of making New Year paintings 4️⃣ If you are tired of strolling around the ancient town, you can go to Liuqing Tea Garden to rest, warm up, and make tea around the stove.

The cultural heritage of the Chinese nation has been passed down for five thousand years, uninterrupted, originating from our ancestors' harmonious concept of home. The construction, management, and aesthetic appreciation of the home by our forebears resonate deeply with me. The Yangliuqing Ancient Town's An Family Courtyard in Tianjin offers a life that is half mundane daily existence and half poetic and picturesque enjoyment. My aesthetic appreciation falls on the courtyard of our predecessors—the An Family Courtyard in Yangliuqing. Although more than 150 years have passed, its soft furnishings remain stylish and elegant. Despite the changes of time, it shines even brighter, displaying the noble elegance ingrained in its essence and exuding the atmosphere of historical culture. You can't help but exclaim that the aesthetic and spiritual life of our ancestors far surpasses ours. 'Restrain oneself and return to ritual, cultivate personal character and put one's family in order,' engraved on the walls of the courtyard, is the soul and spiritual heritage of this place. True nobility is the great wealth of the spirit. In the ancient town of Yangliuqing in Tianjin, there is a street known as a gathering place for the wealthy, called 'Guiyi Street.' To the south of the street is the Shi Family Courtyard, the largest civilian residence in North China, and to the north, just across the street, is the even older An Family Courtyard. The An Family Courtyard has coexisted with history for 150 springs and autumns, witnessing the prosperity and bustle of the ancient town, recording the traces and styles of the years. Now, An Wenzhong has been deceased for many years, and the 150-year-old courtyard of the An family, with his story, has been left to us. Everywhere in the An Family Courtyard are historical marks. Despite the changes of the times and the vicissitudes of weather, the old green bricks, lattice windows, and doors still reveal the splendor of the architecture of the past. The sturdy beams and smooth purlins that were preserved when the An Family Courtyard was built still firmly support the heavy history. The vigorous wisteria in the courtyard, over a hundred years old, silently tells the spring and autumn of the residence. This place, where wealthy families of old hid their treasures of gold and silver, is now the only complete gold and silver vault remaining in modern Tianjin, especially its cellar-style construction, the arched top of green bricks, and even the niche-style lampstands and ventilation holes, are all astonishing to modern people. Perhaps it is this ancient town and ancient house, this ancient style and charm, that possess the taste of ancient culture and the value of ancient history. However, it is not possible to visit directly now. The bricks and tiles of the courtyard are full of poetic and picturesque charm, waiting for you to listen to its story. Ticket price: Adult 20, Visiting hours: 9:00～17:00