Former Residence of Wanrong

Former Residence of Wanrong

The former residence of Wanrong is a cultural tourism attraction.

The former residence of Wanrong, situated at No. 35 and 37, Maor Hutong, south of the Drum Tower in Dongcheng District, Beijing, was originally the pre-marriage home of Guoerluo Wanrong, the last empress of the Qing Dynasty and wife of Emperor Puyi. It was built by Wanrong’s great-grandfather, Guoerluo Changshun. Originally just a fairly common residence, after Wanrong was given the title of “Empress,” her father was honored as a Third-Class Chengan Duke, and the residence was elevated to the status of a Chengan Duke’s mansion. As the “residence of the Empress,” it was further expanded. The west section consists of four courtyards, while the east section has three. The rear courtyard features rockeries and a pond, with a family shrine to the east. The main room in the west courtyard was where Wanrong lived. It is a key cultural relic protected by Beijing Municipality.

The former residence of Wanrong is composed of an east and a west section. The west section served as the residential area, consisting of four courtyards, while the east section was a small private garden with three courtyards. The two sections originally shared a three-bay gate on the east side, rebuilt during the Xuantong era. After Wanrong was made Empress, this place became the Empress’s prospective residence, and the main gate and front courtyard were expanded according to protocol. The renovated main gate has three bays, with tubular tiles and an overlapping ridge, featuring a central entrance flanked by lattice windows. A pair of mounting stones stands in front of the gate, and inside there is a straight screen wall. Originally, there were four screen doors on each side; entering the western screen door leads into the west courtyard. There are seven reverse-facing rooms to the south, and to the north stands a single-eave and coiled-roof decorative gate with winding corridors that enclose the second courtyard. A corridor on the east side has a screen door leading to the garden, and one on the west connects to the back courtyard passage. The northern side of the courtyard includes a three-bay connecting room with wing rooms on both the east and west. The third courtyard contains the main rooms, which consist of five bays with corridors at the front and rear, and one wing room on each side. The east and west side rooms each have three bays with front corridors. The buildings in the west courtyard all feature flush-gable roofs covered with rounded tiles and clean ridges, following typical construction styles for official residences in Beijing. The most exquisite part of the residence is the interior decoration of the main room, which includes a caisson ceiling, and in the central bay, an elaborate phoenix-and-peony floor screen. The western side bay features a set of seven oval glass mirror panels, and the northern wall of the western corner bay is inlaid with a full glass mirror. The eastern side and corner bays also include latticed screens — rare features in ordinary homes. Passing through a corridor outside the eastern wing room leads to the fourth courtyard, which has seven rear rooms with front corridors, though the roof has been rebuilt. Entering through a moon gate in the northwest corner of the first courtyard leads to the east courtyard. Inside the moon gate is the second, garden-style courtyard. Because the moon gate is not positioned on the central axis of the west courtyard, it creates a winding, partially hidden path — visitors must walk around the rockery and pass through a cave to see the three main rooms tucked among rocks and trees. These three rooms are three bays wide, with a double-eave hipped roof, front corridors, and flush-gable tiles with clean ridges. The interior also includes latticed screens and glass mirrors. Each side of the main room in this courtyard has a corridor extending forward, semi-enclosing the front yard. The inner walls of the corridors feature decorative lattice windows, while the outer sides have hanging eaves and seating railings, continuing northward to connect with the rear courtyard and rear rooms. According to past residents, the third courtyard used to also have rockeries, a pond, and a family shrine on the east side, but today only the three rear rooms in the north and platform corridors on either side remain.

The last emperor of the Qing Dynasty, Puyi: Nowadays, the original main gate has been converted into three living rooms, and two small doors have been opened where the original reverse-facing rooms were located — one is No. 37, the other No. 35. The main structures in the courtyard remain largely unchanged, although the eastern family shrine and the rockery and pond in the rear courtyard of the east section have been replaced with buildings. The interior decoration of the main room in the west courtyard remains mostly intact. Currently, the west section serves as dormitories for a certain organization, while the east section is used as office space. In 1984, this residence was designated as a Cultural Relic Protected Unit of Beijing Municipality.

Address: No. 35 and 37, Maor Hutong, south of the Drum Tower, Dongcheng District, Beijing