Qiao Family Grand Courtyard
The Qiao Family Courtyard lies in the beautiful and richly endowed Jinzhong basin of Shanxi. It is greatly admired as a very special artistic treasure by both common people and architects; it is also one of the ten best tourist spots in Shanxi Province.
The first generation of Qiao's family, Qiao Guifa, started business from a shoestring. He braved Xikou and beyond to arrive at Baotou of North China's Inner Mongolia, where he finally became a tycoon and monopolized Baotou's commerce.
Qiao family's business reached the top in the family's second-generation, when their bank house opened inBeijing,Tianjin, Northeast China, and the Yangtze valley. It is estimated that the Qiao family's property was worth an equivalent of nearly 10 billion yuan in modern time.
The Qiao Family Courtyard was built in during the reign of EmperorQianlong(1711-99) in the Qing Dynasty, and occupied 8,724.8 square meters of land, consisting of 6 large yards and 20 small yards with 313 houses in total. It was repaired and rebuilt many times during the reigns of emperors Tongzhi and Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty and the beginning years ofthe Republic of China(1911-1949). It was an old Chinese residential courtyard that thrived for over two centuries. When you look down at the overall yard above ground, it looks just like"喜喜"（double happiness in Chinese）.
Entering into the gate of the courtyard, first, you will see an 80-meter-long straight stone pavement that divides 6 courtyards into a northern and southern row. There are slope protections between the pavements and nearby walls.
The Qiao family's ancestraltempleis at the end of the western side, which directly faces the gate. There are 4 main buildings and 6 other structures, such as a gatepavilionand the Geng and Tiao pavilions. The sidewalks on the roof of every yard are connected to allow for patrol.
