Family Wang Courtyard House

The Wang’s Courtyard (王家大院), situated in Lingshi County of Shanxi Province, is 35 kilometers from the Ancient City of Pingyao, a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site. Besides being the largest and the best preserved architecture collections in Shangxi Province, it is also the largest residential architecture collections throughout China. Wang’s Courtyard had been listed as the National Key Cultural Protection Units in year 2006. Reputed as the “First Folk Residence in Cathay”, and the “Forbidden City of Shanxi”, the Grand Courtyard of the Wang’s is a cultural heritage site of China’s outstanding traditional architecture and an art treasure of folk house. The courtyard layout of the five ancient forts were respectively compared to designs of five lucky animals of “dragon, phoenix, tortoise, kylin and tiger”.

Family Wang Courtyard House

Entering the courtyard, you can find 2 clusters of buildings opposite each other, one on the east and the other west, which are called Gaojiaya (高家崖) and Hongmenbao (红门堡) respectively. As totally-enclosed castle architectures, they are connected by a bridge. It is famous for its architecture designs which look like a maze. You will always find there is another door after you enter one and seems like there is always an inner courtyard after you stepped into one another. Yard inside yard, gate inside gate, you may get lost in this labyrinth.

Family Wang Courtyard House

With a history of more than 680 years, the Wang Family have lived on for 27 generations throughout all the ups and downs. Now there are some newly emerged talents in various fields from the Wang. Upon gazing at the Wang Grand Courtyard, one can vividly feel the history of China in the past few centuries through the legend of one common family. The famous architect Zheng Xiaoxie researched the place six times, describing it as a “priceless treasure not only for the nation, but also for the entire world.”