Tianjin Yuan Family Mansion

Tianjin Yuan Family Mansion

Located at No. 39 Haihe East Road, Hebei District, it is now residential and was built in 1918 in the Nordic architectural style. The main building has an "L"-shaped floor plan, is a three-story brick-and-wood structure with a partial basement, covering a land area of 1,836 square meters and a construction area of 2,217 square meters. A four-story tower is located at the entrance. The porch features a combination of square and round columns. The ground floor includes a large living room, dining room, study, and more. Outside the living room is a columned porch, above which there is also a tower. The second floor houses bedrooms. The entire building contains over 20 rooms of various sizes. To the east of the main building are two additional floors, with a small dome on the upper level that was used to house servants.

On the eastern bank of the Haihe River between the Golden Triumph Bridge and the Beian Bridge stands a charming red-roofed building with an irregular and graceful design. As one of Tianjin’s scenic spots along the river, it captivates visitors and offers aesthetic pleasure. This uniquely styled building is known as the “Yuan Family Mansion” and is now a municipal-level cultural heritage site. Yuan Shikai was once a prominent figure in modern Chinese history — leader of the Beiyang warlords, who seized the position of provisional president after the Xinhai Revolution and later attempted to restore the imperial system, drawing widespread public condemnation. Leveraging his influence, he and some of his relatives constructed numerous mansions within the foreign concessions. There were two Yuan family residences in the concessions: one was the former residence of Yuan Shikai’s eldest son, Yuan Keding (now at No. 42 Minzhu Road), and the other is the aforementioned “Yuan Family Mansion.” It is said that the Yuan family’s old residence at No. 39 Haihe East Road, Hebei District (formerly Jintang Second Road in the Austrian Concession) was purchased at a low price from the Austrian Concession shortly after Yuan Shikai became Governor-General of Zhili and Minister of Beiyang. It was commissioned to be designed and built by German and British architects, reportedly because the location was considered “extremely auspicious with outstanding feng shui.” The building was completed between 1917 and 1918. By the time it was finished, Yuan Shikai had already been dead for two years, so it is more accurate to refer to it as the home of the “Yuan descendants” rather than the Yuan family itself. Some also claim that the Yuan Family Mansion was the residence of Yuan NaiKuan, Yuan Shikai’s clansman and close political ally. After 1910, he held various positions including Magistrate of Tianjin, Quartermaster General of the Gengwei Army, Deputy Commander of the Mongolian Bordered Red Banner, and Director of Preparations for Oil Mine Development. In 1915, he actively campaigned for Yuan Shikai’s imperial restoration. After Yuan’s death, he withdrew from public life. In 1923, he served as Minister of Agriculture and Commerce under the Gao Lingwei Cabinet, but left office in 1924 and lived as a private resident in Tianjin. This building is a three-story European classical-style structure, evolving from the medieval “Romanesque style” and incorporating German architectural techniques. Its steep red sloped roof features a central ridge with a bell-shaped skylight tower, modeled after the dome of the early Italian Renaissance “Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore,” yet with an added reverse curve that gives it a distinctive German architectural flair. The porch combines square and round columns — a rare feature in Tianjin architecture. On the second floor of the eastern side of the main building, a small Byzantine-style spire dome complements the tower, reflecting German national architectural style. The compound also includes a backyard garden with rockeries, covered walkways, fishing pavilions, and a greenhouse. Most notably, the building contains a “hiding place” and an “escape route.” The hiding place is located at a corner on the right side of the second floor, where a small door leads to a reinforced concrete staircase that goes up to the rooftop and down to the basement. If the small door is closed, the staircase to the upper floor and basement becomes unnoticeable. The escape route is an iron staircase next to a pavilion on the third floor, leading directly to a rear garden gate through which one could flee.