It's no surprise that a country with a 5,000-year-old civilization would be blessed with a number of historic homes, as well as its fine heritage of imperial, religious and civic buildings. While the country's palaces, temples, pagodas and walled cities, with their bell and drum towers, are well known, there is also a wealth of ancient villages and noteworthy structures erected long ago by wealthy merchants and businessmen. Such typical homes can be found in Shanxi Province , representing the wealth acquired by Shanxi merchants.

 Shanxi merchants

Shanxi Province occupies the mountainous region between China's central plains and northern desert. Its transport routes provided the Han Chinese of the central plains with a means to communicate with desert tribes living beyond the border. Trade links, dating from the first century BC, flourished during the Sui and Tang dynasties. Strong family loyalties among Shanxi people, coupled with the ethics of diligence, thrift and teamwork brought about a thriving merchant culture that endured for some 500 years until the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Staying true to their roots, these merchants would return to their families with their wealth to build fine, extensive mansions.

Today, there are still some 1,300 sites where such houses can be found. Surrounded by walls enclosing a compound, the individual brick and timber buildings within are organized into quadrangles and are usually two storeys high. Among the best-preserved compounds located in the center of Shanxi are the Qiao, Wang and Cao compounds.

 Wang Compound

The Wang compound is located in Lingshi County, Shanxi Province -- some 150 km from the province's capital, Taiyuan City. It is the former site of the Wang family private residences, with an area four times as large as the Qiao compound. The structures were built on a mountain in the north to face to the south. It is a group of residences for common people of Shanxi, and also an artistic museum of Chinese buildings.

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