Yan Xishan's Former Residence

　　Yan Xishan's Former Residence is located at No. 55 Shaanxi Road, Heping District. Built in the 1920s, it is a three-story brick-and-wood structure with a Western classical-style pointed roof. The residence has two carved iron gates on the east and west sides, a garage in the courtyard, as well as a large locust tree and other plants. The building has a semi-basement that serves as the boiler room. Both the second and third floors feature large shared balconies, creating a trapezoidal architectural structure that is wider at the bottom and narrower at the top. The exterior of the building is adorned with exquisite column carvings and decorative elements. Ascending over a dozen stone steps and passing through a round foyer, you enter the first floor, which contains six rooms including a living room, dining room, and study. These rooms are connected by sliding carved glass doors, with carved decorations on the interior ceilings, Philippine hardwood flooring, double-glazed windows, and heating facilities. The second floor has five rooms, including bedrooms and bathrooms, while the third floor has three rooms used as storage and servant quarters.

　　Yan Xishan (1883~1960)　　 1. First Governor of Shanxi Yan Xishan, styled Bochuan, was born on October 8, 1883, in Yonghe Fort, Hebian Village (now part of Dingxiang County), Wutai County, Shanxi Province, into a family of landlords and commercial lenders. Yan lost his mother at the age of five and lived with his maternal uncle, raised by his grandmother. At nine, he attended a private school, and at 16, he followed his father, Yan Shutang (Ziming), to the family-run Jiqingchang Money Shop in Wutai County Town to learn business, handling loans and financial transactions. In 1900, after the money shop went bankrupt, Yan Xishan and his father fled to Taiyuan to escape creditors. To make a living, Yan once worked as a clerk at Yusheng Inn (a guesthouse). In 1902, Yan Xishan... Details+