The Ancient Architectural Complex of the Li Family Mansion

The Ancient Architectural Complex of the Li Family Mansion

The Ancient Architectural Complex of the Li Family Mansion is a cultural relic protection unit of Hunan Province.

The Ancient Architectural Complex of the Li Family Mansion

The Li Family Mansion, also known as the Li Kuijia Mansion, is located in Li Qian’er Village, Jinpingwei Township, Xintian County. Constructed in 1824 during the Qing Dynasty’s Daoguang reign with funding from Li Kuijia, it took thirteen years to complete and was finished in 1837, reaching its current scale.

The Li Family Mansion faces south and is nestled against mountains and near water. It is grand in scale and majestic in presence, renowned for its “seventy-two entry and exit doors.” All structures are built with a combination of brick, wood, and stone, arranged in a layout of “three halls, four courtyards, twelve rooms, and seventy-two doors.” The mansion has three sections in depth, with a total width of 21.7 meters, a total depth of 32.26 meters, and a construction area of 492.72 square meters. Upon entering the mansion, you will successively pass through the main hall, middle hall, and central hall (ancestral hall), with ten wooden side rooms on both sides, all interconnected with four inner courtyards, forming a harmonious whole. Two wing rooms are situated on either side of the central hall. The wooden carvings, stone carvings, wall paintings, and depictions of flowers, birds, insects, fish, and animals on the mansion’s buildings vary in form and are strikingly lifelike, making them truly exceptional. Experts have praised the mansion as “a shining pearl in the treasure house of Chinese architectural art.”

In 2011, it was designated as a provincial-level cultural relic protection unit by the People’s Government of Hunan Province.