Former Residence of Li Fuchen

Former Residence of Li Fuchen

The former residence of Li Fuchen is a cultural tourism attraction.

The former residence of Li Fuchen is located at No. 12 Huayuan Road, Heping District, currently. The main building was constructed in 1918, built with a brick-and-wood structure, two stories plus a basement, covering a construction area of 4,891 square meters. The building actually served as the residence of Li Fuchen’s sons, Li Jifu and Li Zhinian. Later, because Li Fuchen’s mother preferred living in a bungalow, some additional single-story houses were added. The entire site covers an area of 8.144 city mu (5,429.36 square meters). Designed by Swiss architect Lü Fu of the Loyal Engineering Company, it is a group of buildings imitating the British courtyard style. The main entrance of the main building faces south and features a porch with three arched windows adorned with square steel openwork floral decorations. Ascending the steps leads to a square corridor, with a central fountain in the courtyard that originally had large flower stands at each corner. On the east, west, and north sides of the corridor, there are sets of buildings. The central areas of the east and west buildings both feature two-story high cross-vaulted halls, with four Ionic columns on pedestals standing at each corner. The interior decoration of the building is extremely refined. The residences all use Philippine wood, double-sash windows, and red floor tiles, while the hall floors are made of terrazzo with artistic patterns. Parts of the exterior walls feature square pilasters and protruding windows, with dentil moldings on the eaves, presenting a novel and unique design. The surrounding courtyard of the main building is filled with greenery and flowers, with an iron-fenced wall on the southern side. This grand residence, situated along the streets and highly eye-catching, boasts a unique style, elegant design, tranquil surroundings, and an air of luxury. It is an outstanding modern building decorated with classical architectural techniques.

Li Fuchen ( ?–1910 ) was a native of Tianjin. In his early years, he came from a poor family and made a living by peddling, running a small money stall, exchanging silver currency, and dealing with money notes. Seeing that the income of service staff in foreign firms in Tianjin was relatively high, he asked someone to get him a job as a handyman at the British-owned Jardine Matheson & Co. in Tianjin, doing odd jobs such as carrying slop buckets. Due to this experience, even after he became wealthy, people often referred to him behind his back as “Slop-water Li.” In the late Qing Dynasty, due to differences in the fineness of silver and varying silver standards across regions, as well as the complexities of copper cash, money notes, and transfer codes, when foreign firms’ Chinese accounting departments conducted transactions and payments with Chinese merchants,… More details about Li Fuchen ++

Li Jifu was the son of Li Fuchen (a native of Tianjin who became wealthy as a comprador for Jardine Matheson & Co., known as “Jardine Li”) and also served as a comprador for the British firm. After Li Fuchen passed away in 1910, he and his younger brother Li Zhinian took over the comprador positions at the firm. The brothers divided their responsibilities, with Li Jifu handling imports and Li Zhinian managing exports. At the time, import operations were less lucrative than exports, so the activities of his brother Li Zhinian became the main source of wealth for the “Jardine Li” family. Another source of the “Jardine Li” fortune was real estate development—taking advantage of the expansion of the British Concession, they purchased land and sold it at higher prices, amassing great wealth… More details about Li Jifu ++