What to do on Day 6 in China? We visited Lee Family Courtyard (李家大院), a sprawling 200-year-old mansion in Shanxi. Getting to this 4A attraction in China required quite a bit of effort.
Read on as I share our mini adventure getting to this scenic spot in Shanxi province.
Tip: China has a rating system for its tourist attractions, with 5A being top attractions not to be missed. These comprise iconic historical sites, such as Forbidden city (full list here).
Don’t miss:
- Day 1: From Singapore to Beijing’s Temple of Heaven
- Day 2: Step back in time at Pingyao Ancient City (UNESCO Gem)!
- Day 3: Hanfu & Photoshoot Experience in Pingyao Ancient City
- Day 4 (AM): Yellow River Waterfall: Travel Hiccups & Most Stressful Day
- Day 4 (PM): Hidden Gems at Mount Yun
- Day 5: Great Ladder Cliff of Yellow River
A Day with No Planned Itinerary in Shanxi
No thanks to Hukou Yellow River hiccup, we had no planned activity on Day 6 of our China trip. After an unremarkable breakfast at H Hotel, we idled away the morning before deciding to visit Lee Family Courtyard (see location).
This place holds a little personal significance – same surname. :)
Getting to Lee’s Courtyard was an adventure!
(11.30am)
With the help of Baidu map, we figured a route to get to Lee Family Courtyard, i.e. a bus (运河快线) departing from Hejin Station (¥10).
The entire journey took more than an hour, and was memorable because we were choking from second-hand smoke – some passengers were smoking in the enclosed airconditioned bus.
What’s even more memorable was alighting along the expressway! And to realise that getting to the Lee Family Courtyard required a further 20 minutes walk – the first part along the shoulder of the expressway, and the rest through a rural town with uneven roads and unexpected sights and smell.
Wish I’d taken photo of dried corns spread across the pedestrian walkway – which was possibly part of a fertilizer-making process.
The Lee Family Courtyard (Shanxi)
(1pm)
After 1.5 hours since departing from Hejin city, we finally reached Lee Family Courtyard (¥60 admission). This rather remote attraction was huge, with 20 courtyards, ancestry halls, a garden, a pond and more.
Lee’s Mantra: Kindness & Generosity
Other than the interesting architecture, one standout feature of this residence is the Lee’s commitment to kindness. You’ll see the Chinese character “善” (meaning kind) throughout the residence.
The Lee family have done good deeds through a hundred years, which you can explore in detail within the exhibition halls.
Chinese Costume Rental, Courtyards and More
Not as vibrant as Pingyao Ancient City or Xi’an, the Lee Family Courtyard offers a serene and tranquil setting for a Hanfu experience. You can rent a traditional Chinese costume and enjoy “role-playing” as a merchant lady, without the crowds and unexpected photobombs.
We wandered through several courtyards, explored a garden and pond in need of upkeep, and had fun playing with an ancient door that came with six levels of security.
Yup, that door can be secured using traditional hand-made technology, such as inserting a key the size of a paper-clip, and turning it in pre-fixed and secret direction.
This amazing old-time technique successfully prevented Japanese army from entering Li’s courtyard in 1938.
British Influence in its Architecture
An interesting story was how the son who studied in Britain, married a Caucasian lady. I also recall reading how the wife was slapped by her father-in-law on her wedding day because she greeted him with a Western-style hug.
Such intimate gesture was deemed inappropriate in traditional Chinese culture.
With the son’s exposure to Western culture and his wife living in the residence, the Lee’s Courtyard was infused with some western elements.
For instance, in the Courtyard of Mrs Mctiren, you can see gazebo, fountain and western-style bed and furniture in her room.
Sadly, she died at a tender age.
No cab. How to return to Hejin City?
Done with the tour of Lee Family Courtyard, we were ready to head back to Hejin City.
Not wanting to walk the dreadful long route back to the bus stop, we tried calling a cab, but received no response. As expected, who would respond in this extremely remote town?
Left with no choice, we retraced the same dreadful 20 minutes walk back to the expressway. We weren’t sure if the place we stood was a bus stop, and which bus to hail. With the vehicles travelling fast along the expressway, we were worried that we would miss the bus and had to stay 100% alert.
Luckily, the bus was driven by the same driver who brought us here. He spotted us and slowed down for us.
Phew! We almost got stranded in a rural town in Shanxi, China. LOL!
Second Night in Hejin: Here’s what we did
We chose to alight near a shopping mall “Dong Xing” (东星时代广场) and walked around to explore dining options. A restaurant selling “Big Plate Chicken” (柴小李鲜炒大盘鸡) caught our attention.
The stewed chicken meal was generous in portion and tasty, though a tad salty. “Love the well-stewed potato!” was what I’ve written in my diary.
And the meal cost just ¥70. That’s less than S$13.
After dinner, we popped into a nearby snack shop and bought some local tit bits. Such snack shops that sell snacks in mini quantity is a common sight in China. The mini snack concept is especially good for tourist – can sample many things without overloading the luggage.
The last thing we did on our last day in Hejin city was to R&R at a bubble tea chain store unique to this region “Cha Hua Nong” (茶话弄). I ordered a Grape and Strawberry Oolong tea and watched the world go by.
Thereafter, we headed back to our hotel early, did our laundry and prep for tomorrow’s journey to Xi’an.
Stay tuned as I’ll share what we would do in Xi’an for the next 6 days, which included exploring Mount Hua, Terracotta Army and enjoying another Hanfu experience.
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- Day 1: From Singapore to Beijing’s Temple of Heaven
- Day 2: Step back in time at Pingyao Ancient City (UNESCO Gem)!
- Day 3: Hanfu & Photoshoot Experience in Pingyao Ancient City
- Day 4 (AM): Yellow River Waterfall: Travel Hiccups & Most Stressful Day
- Day 4 (PM): Hidden Gems at Mount Yun
- Day 5: Great Ladder Cliff of Yellow River
- Day 7: Things to do in Xi’an
