The Hu Family Residence

The Hu Family Residence

The Hu Family Residence is a cultural heritage site protected by the Yangzhou Municipal Government.

The Hu Family Residence

Located at Nos. 306 and 312 Dongguan Street, it was the home of Hu Zhonghan, a banker during the Republican era. Covering an area of over 1,000 square meters, it is an early Republican-period building with its original layout still intact. The residence at No. 306 Dongguan Street originally featured a small eight-character brick gate with precisely fitted joints, flanked by a pair of white marble drum-shaped pedestals. The door panels were thick, clad in iron sheeting, and adorned with nail patterns forming the “Five Blessings Around Longevity” motif. Below the main gate was a threshold over a foot high, and to the east of the gatehouse was a single-room guardhouse. Each brick on the south-facing wall was planed and polished before being laid, resulting in an exceptionally smooth and refined surface — a feature rarely seen in other old houses in Yangzhou. The wall originally had a small shrine (fuci), which has since been destroyed, though remnants remain. To the left of the shrine was a meticulously built gate (yimen) with precisely fitted bricks — one of the traditional layout features of wealthy households in Yangzhou. This yimen remains intact, leading into a three-bay entrance hall that faces south, followed by a three-bay main hall framed in cypress wood, with side corridors on both sides. Behind the main hall, there was originally a screen door. Passing through the main hall and a waist gate leads into the rear section, where the residence follows a “three-bay apparent, five-bay hidden” layout. The east wing has a small side door leading to a fire lane. The main room and the front hall have square brick flooring, while the bedrooms have raised wooden floors. The west suite also has a hidden west panel wall that connects to two concealed rooms, which are very difficult to detect. The west wall of the concealed room originally had a hidden door leading to the east room of the rear section of No. 312 Dongguan Street. There is also a hidden door in the north wall of the concealed room, leading to a narrow east-west alley to the north. A small door behind the bed in the east suite also leads to this alley. To the north of the alley is a hexagonal door that opens into the rear courtyard and the flower hall. The courtyard walls are fitted with decorative lattice windows. On the east side of the courtyard is a brick gate leading to the east fire lane, and at the southeast corner of the courtyard is a flower stand, while the southwest corner features a lake-rock rockery with a winding fishpond below, surrounded by stone railings. The flower hall is a building that blends Chinese and Western styles, with corridors on three sides opening onto open space, and a single-eave hip-and-gable roof with upturned corners. The interior doors and windows of the hall are designed in a Western style. No. 312 Dongguan Street was the secondary residence of the Hu family, featuring a three-bay north-facing entrance hall, a three-bay south-facing main hall, and side corridors. In front of the hall are latticed doors, and behind it is a screen door. Passing through a waist gate leads to a residence consisting of three rooms and two wings, spanning two sections. During the Republican era, Hu Zhonghan ran the Tailong Bank in Nantong, and later served as a manager at the Midland Bank in Shanghai. In the late 1940s, he moved to the old house at No. 306 Dongguan Street in Yangzhou for health reasons.

Further Reading:

· List of the Fourth Batch of Cultural Heritage Protection Units in Yangzhou