Ancient Residence of Shanxi Merchants
This is how rich families lived in the Qing Dynasty.
Shanxi or Jin merchants were the groups from Shanxi province in China. The origin of Shanxi merchants could be traced back to more than 2000 years ago.
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Shanxi merchants became influential and prominent because of their dominance in Chinese commerce
Their businesses were in China and extended to neighboring nations like Mongolia, Russia, and Japan, lasting for more than 500 years. They built strong and long-lasting commercial networks and amassed an insane amount of wealth
The enormous wealth collected from the international trade of tea to Russia and the development of draft banks made Shanxi a financial hub in the Qing dynasty.
Early Chinese types of draft banks (known as piaohao) were the dominant form of banks in China until the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911. It also enabled Shanxi merchants to build beautiful and luxurious family residences.
The greenish gardens and eye-catching houses they built are part of culture and architecture. Most of these buildings…
