Huangcheng Xiangfu (Chen Tingjing's Mansion)

Huangcheng Xiangfu, also called Chen Tingjing's Mansion, is a fortified Qing-dynasty residential complex in Huangcheng Village, Beiliu Town, Yangcheng County, Jincheng, Shanxi, China. It was the home of Chen Tingjing, a scholar-official who served as a chief editor of the Kangxi Dictionary and a senior minister under the Kangxi Emperor, and it has been called the best-preserved official residence complex in the province. The site is divided into an inner and an outer city: the inner city contains courtyards, a library, ancestral halls and living quarters, while the outer city is made up of commercial streets, a watchtower and defensive walls. The castle walls, watchtowers and a seven-storey tower give a military character that is unusual among Chinese mansions. Visitors walk through carved gateways, residential courtyards and displays about the Chen family and the Kangxi Dictionary. A visit generally takes two to three hours, and the ticket centre is some distance from the site, so extra walking time is needed. Good vantage points include the tower and the inner city terraces, which look over the tiled roofs and courtyards. Crowds are heaviest on weekends and holidays, and weekday mornings are calmer. The site is about an hour by car from Jincheng, and visitors often combine it with other attractions in southeast Shanxi, such as the nearby villages. Comfortable shoes are useful for the stone paving and steps.