The Yan Family Ancestral House

The Yan Family Ancestral House

The Yan Family Ancestral House is a cultural heritage site protected by the Suzhou municipal government.

The Yan Family Ancestral House is located at Nos. 108, 110, 112, and 114, West Mudu Street, Wuzhong District, dating back to the Qing Dynasty and the Republican era.

The Yan Family Garden is located north of Wangjiaqiao on Shantang Street in Mudu Town. It was originally the residence of Shen Deqian, a renowned scholar from Suzhou during the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty. In the eighth year of the Daoguang reign (1828 AD), descendants of the Shen family granted this compound to Qian Duannxi, a poet from Mudu. The Qian family arranged rockeries, dug ponds, built pavilions and towers, and named it Duanyuan (Garden of Virtue), featuring attractions such as the Youyu Study, Tiaonong Tower, and Yian Pavilion. In the 28th year of the Guangxu reign (1902 AD), Yan Guoxin, the wealthiest man in Mudu, purchased Duanyuan, renovated it thoroughly, and renamed it “Xiayuan” (Admired Garden). Since the owner’s surname was Yan, locals called it the “Yan Family Garden.” Through the efforts of three generations of owners over more than two hundred years, the Yan Family Garden, regardless of the passage of time or cultural accumulation, has acquired an air of refined culture and the charm of a famous classical garden.

In 1935, two towering figures in China's architectural field, renowned as "Liu of the South and Liang of the North"—Professor Liu Dunzhen and Professor Liang Sicheng—visited the Yan Family Garden twice. They were enthralled by it, highly praised its layout and meticulous details, and hailed it as the “finest example” among Suzhou’s classical gardens.