Former Residence of the Lü Family

Former Residence of the Lü Family

The Former Residence of the Lü Family (No. 4 Xintian Street)

Located at Landanshou Grand Gate and facing south, it was built in the 24th year of the Republic of China (1935) by Lü Yusheng. Inside the grand gate, the first section of the Lü residence is a three-bay single-story house, originally with a central stone gate facing outward, a service alley to the west, and a small stone gate at the entrance of the service alley. The second section is a three-bay two-story building, flanked by wing rooms, with a stone-paved courtyard in the middle. There used to be a gate tower to the south of the courtyard, which still stands today, though the gate has been bricked up and all carvings have been lost. The third section is a four-story building with four levels below. The stairwells for the second and third sections are located in the east wing room of the rear section. The lower level of the third section features a xuan-style structure on the first bay wall, with hardwood curved rafters inside. The building joints include dougong (bracket sets), and the moon beams are adorned with carved floral patterns, including designs of flowers, plants, and children offering longevity peaches. Most of the upper-floor windows are plum blossom-patterned glass windows; some are floor-length windows, others have skirted wind boards and half-windows. The gable walls all feature five posts reaching the ground, with short posts, five-bay beams, and three-bay beams in the middle. The wing rooms facing the courtyard have latticed railings, and the upper floors all have long wooden floorboards, while the lower floors are paved with square bricks. Behind the third-section building is an irregularly shaped rear courtyard. The current structure consists of three sections, totaling 30 rooms and covering 564 square meters. It was listed as a newly discovered cultural relic during the third national cultural relics survey in 2008 and has since been placed under protection.