Dong Mansion 董府

About Dong Mansion

High outer walls enclose a series of residential courtyards whose brick and timber details reward close observation. Animal, plant and auspicious motifs decorate the entrances and structural elements. The scale expresses the owner’s status, but the spaces remain those of a residential compound rather than an imperial palace.

Dong Fuxiang served as a vanguard under Zuo Zongtang during the Tongzhi-era Hui uprising and captured Jinjibao (金积堡). He was dismissed and sent back to his hometown of Guyuan in 1901. Construction of Dong Mansion began in 1902 on a filled pond in Jinjibao, its foundation packed with a layer of coal, and was completed in 1905; timber was shipped down the Yellow River from southern Gansu and stone brought from Shaanxi. Because Dong held the rank of Junior Guardian of the Crown Prince (太子少保), the mansion became popularly known as 'Gongbao Mansion' (宫保府).

The surviving complex covers 11,025 square metres, down from an original 34,650 square metres that also included an outer wall and moat, both later destroyed. The rectangular mansion wall, built of rammed loess except for its brick-faced gate, encloses an east-facing gatehouse and corner platforms. Inside, the main building forms three successive courtyards, each split into front and back sections, totalling 106 rooms in brick and timber; only the middle courtyard, where Dong Fuxiang lived, rises to two storeys under a glazed-tile roof. The mansion was listed as a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level (全国重点文物保护单位) in 2006.

What to look for

• Successive courtyards reveal the arrangement of a large Qing-period residence.
• Carved brick and timber details carry plant, animal and auspicious motifs.

Location & getting there

Getting to Dong Mansion

Use Dong Mansion near Jinji town in Wuzhong’s Litong District. Confirm the visitor entrance and current access to the courtyard groups before making the road trip from central Wuzhong.