[2025 Taining Attraction] Travel Guide for Shangshu Mansion (Updated Apr)

Taining Shangshudi, also known as "Wufutang", is the residence of Li Chunye, the Minister of War and the Prince's Grand Tutor, and the Grand Guardian of the State in the late Ming Dynasty. It was built from the first year of the Tianqi reign of the Ming Dynasty (1621) to the seventh year of the Tianqi reign (1627), and has a history of more than 400 years. Shangshudi covers an area of about 5,400 square meters and a construction area of 4,500 square meters. It is a rare official mansion-style building in the Ming Dynasty in China and has the reputation of "the first residential building in Jiangnan". Its characteristics are: large area, large corridors, large space, large corridors, large steps, large halls, and large beams; the overall building is large in scale, dignified and elegant, with a rigorous layout and excellent craftsmanship. It not only draws on the grand momentum of the official buildings in the capital, but also combines the elements of local mansion-style buildings, forming Taining's unique "three halls and nine buildings" traditional brick and wood structure building pattern. It was announced as the third batch of national key cultural relics protection units in 1988 and is a national 5A-level tourist Attraction. The area of Taining Shangshudi is 5,400 square meters (87 meters long from north to south and 52 meters wide from east to west). There are five main buildings and eight auxiliary buildings, which are arranged in a row with five doors. In addition to the hall, patio and corridor, there are more than 120 rooms, all of which are brick, stone and wood structures. Corridor and courtyard. The corridor and patio are all paved with granite slabs, the hall is square brick, and the patio has stone pillars, flower racks and stone water tanks. The corridor in front of the courtyard is divided into two gates in the north and south, with a ceremonial hall and a reception hall at the north end. The corridor has five gatehouses, and the horizontal plaques are respectively inscribed with Shangshudi, "Zhuguo Shaobao", "Four Generations of First Rank", "Limen", "Yilu", "Yilu Xingchen", "Yiguang Riyue", "Dujian" and other words. The purlins and column heads of the plaques are carved with various exquisite patterns. A pair of drum stones are arranged on the stone steps of the door, 2 meters high and 0.92 meters wide, and the drum base is carved with two lions playing with balls, clouds and dragons, and flowers. The gate piers and wall foundations are engraved with exquisite patterns such as lotus-shaped support, lotus skirt seat, and bamboo-jointed lining columns. Shide Hall, located to the east of Shangshudi in Taining, is a fine ancient building from the late Yuan Dynasty to the early Ming Dynasty. It covers an area of more than 7,000 square meters and has a history of more than 500 years. Its main house is a row of six fire-proof gabled gabled wooden frame buildings facing west and east. It is 79 meters wide, more than 40 meters deep, and has a construction area of more than 3,200 square meters. The fifth building in particular has a simple architectural style, rough materials, and a long history. The hall completely preserves the "three halls and nine buildings" residential building model of the Ming Dynasty. It uses rough materials, has a simple style, and has connected halls and halls. It is safe and comfortable. It concentrates on the architectural art of Ming Dynasty residential buildings and has important historical, scientific and artistic value. In June 2001, Shide Hall was incorporated into the Shangshudi building complex and was listed as the fifth batch of national key cultural relics protection units. Shide Hall, Shangshudi and Li's Ancestral Hall together constitute the Shangshudi building complex, with a total area of 12,000 square meters. The building complex contains some ancient life scenes and is one of the typical and complete ancient residential boutique building complexes in Jiangnan. Shengli Second Street, where Shangshudi is located, is an ancient street preserved in the city, preserving a large number of residential buildings from the Ming Dynasty. In addition to the ancient buildings to see in the Li's Ancestral Hall next to the ticket office of Shangshudi, you can also watch the unique Meilin Opera Shangshudi in Taining and experience the unique cultural atmosphere of Taining. This place has now been converted into a performance hall and is the residence of the Meilin Drama Troupe of Taining County.