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The Qu Family Compound is another extended family residence built near Pingyao Ancient City by a successful Shanxi merchant clan over a number of generations. This 300-year-old compound was very unusual in having five layers of courtyard, and the entire compound has 8 large courtyards, 19 smaller courtyards, and 240 rooms overall. One enters the compound from a street built in the Ming and Qing Dynasties and which retains the architectural feel of that period. Despite its great size, it is said that what is seen here represents only about one-fifth of the Qu family's estate. The Qu family was a very successful example of the Shanxi merchant, and their estate used to occupy most of the eastern half of Qi County. Overall, they owned 10 compounds containing over 1000 rooms. During the Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese occupied the compound, and the family had to temporarily relocate their head office to Chengdu. A Japanese observation post built above the roof of one of the buildings in the complex remains. A few blocks away from the main compound is the Changyuchuan Teahouse, which also belonged to the Qu family. The ticket to the Qu Family Compound also includes entrance to a series of six museums in the area, including those dedicated to rulers, scales, mirrors, and vessels for measuring rice. The most interesting one is an abacus museum which includes a pagoda built completely from 668 abacuses.
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常家庄园
One of the Shanxi merchant family compounds. Like the other family compounds, the Chang Family Compound was built over several generations by a wealthy merchant family to house the many branches of this successful clan. The Chang Family Compound is the largest of the Shanxi merchant family manors; despite its impressive size, however, what remains is just one quarter of the original 600,000-m² compound, which contained over 1500 rooms. As the family prospered and grew in size, the Changs placed a great emphasis on education. This academic focus produced many scholars, painters, and calligraphers, and for this reason this compound is more interesting artistically than some of the other compounds in the region. Each of the courtyards, which are laid out along a 1-km-long road, is somewhat different, but the themes throughout are very similar, with grey buildings, archways, smaller courtyards, and gardens in each one. The courtyards are filled with carvings in brick, stone, and wood, and there are many examples of carving which are of very high quality. The garden in one of the courtyards contains a collection of carved stone lions of various shapes and sizes. There used to be 108 lions in the collection; today only about 50 remain. Behind these courtyards is a large garden, designed in both the northern China and southern China styles, purportedly because the Chang family had to entertain visitors from both north and south. A 29-m-tall Guanji Tower in this garden is the tallest structure in the compound and offers expansive views over the entire compound from the top.
介休城隍庙
A city god temple dating from the Ming Dynasty. Like other city god temples, Jieixu's city god temple is used to worship the local city god.
榆次老城
Historically Yuci was a prosperous merchant town similar to Pingyao. Unlike Pingyao, however, Yuci suffered serious damage to its architectural heritage during the mid-twentieth century, so most of the structures you see have been either rebuilt or extensively renovated. A notable exception is the Yuci City God Temple (榆次城隍庙), which dates from the Yuan Dynasty and is considered one of the best preserved city god temples in China.
张壁古堡, Zhangbi Fortress
Zhangbi Castle was founded in the Sixteen Kingdoms period with a construction area of 12,000 square meters. It is based on the traditional Chinese horoscope and the concepts of Earth and earth. The castle has a north-south gate, a brick north gate, and an outer gate. The outer gate was used to fortify the barbican and was topped with religious temples. The Barbican Gate opens to the northeast and forms two gateways with the north gate. The two gates are not on the same axis, which not only follows the principles of ancient military defense, but also implies the use of geomancy. Nanbao Gate is a stone gate with a carved stone dragon head. Outside the gate, there are nine red stone paved roads, symbolizing the dragon's beard.