The Yang Family’s Central Mansion

The Yang Family’s Central Mansion

The Yang Family’s Central Mansion is a cultural heritage site protected by Zhangjiagang City.

The Yang Family’s Central Mansion, also known as the Residence of Yang Xiaozhi Dai, the Grand Historian, is located on Beijie Street in Tiantzhuang, Fenghuang Town. According to Ruan Yuan’s “Biography of the Filial Yang Jun, Honored for His Virtue,” this residence was built during the Qing Dynasty’s Qianlong era by the filial son Yang Dai for his mother, Madam Yuan, in celebration of her 80th birthday, “naming the rooms ‘Aijizhai’ and ‘Beitang,’ digging ponds and carving stones, and planting flowers and trees for her enjoyment.” Later, generations of the Yang family undertook extensive restorations. In the second year of the Xianfeng reign (1852), Yang Dai’s great-great-grandson Yang Sisun ranked second in the imperial examinations and erected four flagpoles in front of the mansion. During the late Qing and early Republican period, part of the central mansion was sold to the Sun family, which is why it is also called the Sun Family Garden. After the liberation, the mansion was repurposed and gradually fell into disrepair. Originally designed with five rows of five bays, only four rows of five bays remain today, spanning a depth of 49.3 meters, with a width of 15.3 meters in the front and 16.2 meters at the rear. The first row consists of five bays, with four stone bases for flagpoles in front of the house. The second and third rows each have four bays; the third row is the main hall, which is 16 meters wide, 11.2 meters deep, and 7 meters high, featuring bluestone drum-shaped column bases, a post-and-lintel structure, double-eaved square eaves, and gilded polychrome paintings on the main beams. The first, second, and third rows are all single-story buildings, while the fourth row is a four-bay building with two stories, 16.2 meters wide, 7.2 meters deep, and 7.9 meters high. The fifth row, originally a two-story building, has been destroyed. The main hall and the upper floor are connected by north-side wing rooms and a winding corridor. Other remains include a water dock, sewer animal-head outlets, and parts of the surrounding wall. In 1998, it was designated as a cultural heritage site protected by Zhangjiagang City. Later, the municipal government allocated funds for a large-scale restoration.

Fenghuang Town: Located on the southern bank of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, Fenghuang Town sits at the southern gateway of Zhangjiagang City, covering an area of 78.7 square kilometers with a population of 64,000. The town boasts picturesque landscapes and a simple, honest folk culture, making it a typical land of fish and rice.

Fenghuang Town enjoys a prime geographical location. National Highway 204, the Suzhou–Yushan–Zhangjiagang First-Class Highway, and the Yanjiang Expressway all run through the town. It is just 30 kilometers from Zhangjiagang Port—the largest international commercial port along the Yangtze River—and the Zhangjiagang Free Trade Zone. From the local interchange on the Yanjiang Expressway, it takes only 45 minutes to drive to Shanghai, allowing the town to directly benefit from the influence of the international metropolis.

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