Shijia Grand Courtyard (Zunmei Hall)

Construction of the Shijia Grand Courtyard began in 1875, the first year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing, and it was completed in 1877; enlargement and remodeling then went on for nearly fifty years. It is the residence of Shi Yuanshi, the fourth son of Shi Wancheng, one of the Eight Great Families of Tianjin. Zunmei Hall is the name of the branch of the Shi family that Shi Baoheng founded in 1827, and Shi Yuanshi managed that branch from 1884. The house holds a reception hall, a theater and a Buddhist chapel. In 2006 it was named a national key cultural heritage site. Among the town's surviving traditional dwellings, large courtyard houses predominate, and this is the one that stands for them.^1,2

The main courtyard of the compound faces south and measures about 96 meters from north to south and 62 meters from east to west, and all the courtyards follow a central-and-side plan. A long passage leads in from the entrance. The east side was the family's living quarters, and on the west side of the passage stood a reception hall, a theater for leisure and a Buddhist chapel, so living, receiving guests, leisure and worship were all arranged within one house. Building began in 1875 and was finished in 1877, and later enlargement and remodeling went on for nearly fifty years. The house is decorated with brick, wood and stone carving of fine workmanship.^1,2