Dongshan Residential Houses

Dongshan Residential Houses

The Dongshan Residential Houses are a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Dongshan Residential Houses are located on Songyuan Lane in Dongshan Town, southwest of Wuzhong District, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province.

Also known as Chunzai Lou (Spring is Here Building), and commonly referred to as the Carved Flower Mansion, the complex was originally the residence of a local landlord surnamed Jin, covering an area of 5,500 square meters. Its brick-carved gate tower stands nine meters tall, built in a wood-like structure with upturned eaves and flying corners. It employs a variety of techniques such as fine brick inlaying, openwork carving, high relief, and line engraving, intricately carved with auspicious patterns of fortune and prosperity, inscriptions, and historical figures and stories such as Emperor Yao abdicating in favor of Shun, King Wen seeking wise advisors, and Guo Ziyi celebrating his mother's birthday. It is a masterpiece representative of brick-carving art in southern China. The beams, brackets, columns, railings, and windows of the main front building are adorned with auspicious patterns, scenes from the Three Kingdoms period, the Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars, and theatrical scenes. The decoration also incorporates Western architectural elements such as Corinthian column capitals, wrought-iron railings, “crosses,” and stained glass. The rear building features a structural design of two visible floors but actually three levels inside. A corridor connects the front and rear buildings. To the north of the mansion lies a small, delicately laid-out garden featuring a pond, winding bridges, rockeries, pavilions, and flower arrangements adapted to the site. To the south is a hall, which research suggests dates back to the Ming Dynasty.

In 2006, the Dongshan Residential Houses were listed by the State Council in the sixth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units as ancient architecture from the Ming Dynasty.

Further reading:

· Sixth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units