No. 2 Siheyuan in Guoxiang Hutong

No. 2 Siheyuan in Guoxiang Hutong

No. 2 Siheyuan in Guoxiang Hutong is a protected cultural heritage site of Beijing.

No. 2 Siheyuan in Guoxiang Hutong is located in Guoxiang Hutong, Dongcheng District. It consists of the two northernmost adjacent courtyards on the central axis of the former residence of Prince Nayan Tu, a Qing Dynasty prince of the first rank. The site covers an area of 4,800 square meters. In the eastern courtyard, there is a moon gate to the south. The main house features five bays in the grand official style with a flush gable roof and a rounded ridge, topped with gray tubular tiles. There are three rooms in the east wing and a two-section connected hallway serving as a side room in the west wing. A west gate leads to the western courtyard, which contains two stacked-rock artificial hills and a surrounding corridor that winds around the entire courtyard. In the western courtyard, there are three rooms in the southern building and a hallway-style east wing that connects to the eastern courtyard. The main house features a grand official-style flush gable roof with a simple rounded ridge. It has a front protruding pavilion with a hanging gable and curved roof, spanning three bays, and is fronted by a three-tiered terrace. The main house has five bays: the central bay originally held a wooden plaque inscribed with “Xitui Zhai,” floor-length decorative screens, and antique shelves. The western bay served as a Buddhist shrine, with painted lattice partitions featuring calligraphy and paintings by famous figures. The transom windows above are inlaid with jade artwork and engraved with a poem titled “Xiangling Gu Se” by Prince Cheng. In the northwest corner courtyard, there is also a two-story Western-style building. After the Xinhai Revolution, the residence was mortgaged to a church, then transferred to Jincheng Bank and a hospital. Later, No. 2 courtyard was used by a kindergarten. In 1987, it was designated as a protected area with defined construction control boundaries. The protected zone extends east and north to the walls of No. 2 Siheyuan in Guoxiang Hutong, south to the east-west extension line of the farthest protruding part of the No. 2 courtyard wall, and west to 5 meters from the protected structure.

Li Hongzhang (February 15, 1823 – November 7, 1901), also known by his courtesy names Shaolian and Yisou, and by the titles Li Zhongtang and Zhangtong, was a prominent late Qing statesman. He served as Governor-General of Zhili and Minister of Beiyang Trade, and was granted the hereditary title of First Class Marquis of Suyi. Li Hongzhang, along with Zeng Guofan, Zhang Zhidong, and Zuo Zongtang, is known as one of the “Four Great Ministers of China's Late Qing Revival.” Alongside Bismarck and Grant, he is also recognized as one of the “Three Great Figures of the 19th Century World.” During his tenure, Li Hongzhang suppressed the Taiping Rebellion, participated in the Self-Strengthening Movement, actively promoted the establishment of a modern navy and founded the Beiyang Fleet. Ultimately, he had to sign the Sino-French Treaty of Tientsin as a diplomatic representative...  More details about Li Hongzhang ++

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of Municipal-Level Protected Cultural Heritage Sites in Beijing