Former Residence of the Jin Family

Former Residence of the Jin Family

The Former Residence of the Jin Family (No. 58 Xintian Street)

Located at the north end of Dadongxi Bridge, facing south, it was built during the Qing Dynasty and was originally part of the residence of Ye Luren (Chunhui Hall). In 1949 (the 38th year of the Republic of China), it was bought by Jin Shen’an and used as the Jin Family Clinic. The building is entirely single-story, with a total of three courtyards, 14 rooms, and covering 253 square meters. It is a typical traditional residential structure with a post-and-lintel timber frame and brick construction. The first and second courtyards each have five bays, with the central bay of the first courtyard originally serving as the entrance hall. The third courtyard has only one room in the western section. At the time, it featured a wall gate, a stone-framed gate, and windows adorned with carvings of vases, human figures, and other designs. According to the records of decorative elements attached to the property deed: the first courtyard had six wall-gate panels, three sets of wooden partition doors, one floor section, two sections of half-windows, two sections of half-windows on the eastern and western wing rooms, two gate doors, and a complete side gate; the second courtyard had one row of long windows in the patio, two sections of half-windows, one section of indoor screen windows, two sections of glass-panel half-windows on the east and west sides, three sections of wooden partition walls, and two floor sections; the third courtyard had one row of long windows and two sections of half-windows in the western single-story building. Unfortunately, most of these decorative features have been lost, primarily destroyed during the Cultural Revolution’s campaign to “Smash the Four Olds.” In 2008, it was listed as a newly discovered cultural relic during the third national cultural relics survey and has since been placed under protection.