The Xujia Manor in Boyan

The Xujia Manor

In the southwest corner of the old street in Boyan, Wu’an, there stands a castle-like ancient architectural complex with a unique layout and grand scale, known as the “Nine-Gate-Aligned” Xujia Courtyard. This manor was formed in the mid-to-late Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, with large-scale expansion taking place from the late Qing Dynasty to the early Republican era. The entire estate comprises 13 courtyards of varying sizes and 398 rooms. When it comes to the Xujia mansions in Boyan and the businesses and pharmacies operated by the Xu family, they were widely known across much of China from the late Qing Dynasty to the Republican period. A popular rhyme from that time in southern Hebei went: “From Fengtian (now Shenyang) and Harbin in the north, to Yinchuan and Lanzhou in the west, numerous shops, businesses, and pharmacies—Wu’an’s Boyan boasts the Eight Masters.” (Xu Anliang, the head of the Xu family at the time, was known as “Eight Master”), which speaks volumes about the Xu family’s prestige and wealth in the business world.

The Xujia Courtyard faces south and has an overall length of over 80 meters from north to south and a width of over 40 meters from east to west, covering an area of 3,200 square meters. The estate consists of two parts, divided by the Xujia passageway, which is 3 meters wide from east to west and 60 meters long from north to south, corresponding to the main (southern) gate of the Xujia family. The eastern side is the old residential area of the manor, comprising six courtyards of varying sizes; the western side is the so-called “Nine-Gate-Aligned” western residential area, also known as the “Dowry Area.” The six courtyards in the old residential area were the ancestral homes of the Xu family, built by Xu Xingren, the founder of the Xu family, and his grandson Xu Chunguang. The earliest courtyard was built in the 48th year of Qianlong (1783 AD), and the latest in the 15th year of Guangxu (1890 AD). The western residential area was built much later, in 1933, by Xu Jingxiu, the then head of the Xu family, specifically to welcome the marriage of his third son, Xu Shuben, to Fang Xiaolan, the eldest daughter of the Fang family. With its majestic “Nine-Gate-Aligned” architectural layout, refined cultural elements, exquisite painted decorations, and the finely carved stone, wood, and brick ornaments embedded in the buildings, the estate caused a sensation in Wu’an County upon completion and became a symbol of prominence in southern Hebei.

The Xujia Courtyard features a castle-style layout with three main gates. The main, southern gate has upturned eaves and a covered porch, with five stone steps and sloped stone pathways, both carved from whole slabs of bluestone and polished. The gate is supported by deep-relief carved stone lion head pedestals, has a high threshold, wide doorframe, and a tung-oil black-painted door. On either side of the gate stand two-meter-high bluestone lions, flanked by mounting stones. Each of the east and west walls features four embedded horse-tying stones. This gate not only exudes affluence and grandeur but also a sense of luxury and solemnity. In front of the gate lies a 6-meter-wide east-west street, across from which stands a large wall-embedded screen wall, 2 meters wide and 4 meters high, with exquisitely carved brickwork depicting the “Three Friends of Winter”—pine, bamboo, and plum—at its center. The craftsmanship is intricate and majestic. The nine gates of the four courtyards in the western residential area are aligned in a straight line along the 80-meter north-south central axis, creating an atmosphere of depth and serenity in the grand courtyard that gives a sense of the mysterious saying, “The noble house is as deep as the sea.” The northern gate of the estate and the main southern gate are aligned along the same north-south central axis. The arched gatehouse, constructed from bluestone and gray bricks, gives off a rustic and substantial impression.

Having withstood over 200 years of wind and rain, the Xujia Courtyard has been preserved intact thanks to the protective awareness of successive governments in Wu’an City and Boyan Town. This simple yet imposing Xujia Courtyard not only reflects the glorious yet tumultuous rise and fall of a once-prominent family but also leaves behind a precious cultural and spiritual legacy for future generations.

At the end of 1945, the Wu’an County Government took over the Xujia Courtyard as public property and used it as the office of the Boyan District People’s Government. In May 1961, to understand the real conditions of rural China, Premier Zhou Enlai, accompanied by Deng Yingchao, personally visited Boyan for an inspection and stayed in the third courtyard of the “Nine-Gate-Aligned” section of the Xujia Courtyard. They held cadre and mass meetings in both the Xujia Courtyard and the Fang family courtyard, engaging in heart-to-heart conversations with the public, visiting local households, meeting with representatives of commune members, and comforting those in need. Always emphasizing the protection of cultural heritage, Premier Zhou told the accompanying Wu’an County officials that the Fang and Xu families were enlightened gentry who had contributed to the nation, and their estates should be well preserved as cultural relics. Thanks to the Premier’s directive and the unremitting efforts of successive Wu’an County governments, the Xujia Courtyard has been kept intact. Later, the Boyan People’s Commune and the health clinic used the premises for a long time until they moved out in 1995. Today, the Xujia Courtyard serves as a cultural activity center for Boyan Town. In recent years, after a joint investigation by the Handan Municipal Bureau of Cultural Relics and the Wu’an Cultural Heritage Protection Department, funds were allocated for emergency preservation work on the Xujia Courtyard, restoring the old manor to its former glory.

Transportation Guide

Location: Boyan Town, Wu’an City, Hebei Province

Getting There: Take a bus from Wu’an City to Boyan Town.