Jinzhong

Jinzhong (晋中; Jìnzhōng) is a city in Shanxi Province in China.

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It is located about 40 km southwest of Taiyuan.

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• 🌍 Chang Family Compound (常家庄园), Chewang Village, Dongyang Town, Yuci District (榆次区东阳镇车辋村) (southwestern area of Yuci District; take bus no. 12), ☎ [phone], [phone]. 8AM-6:30PM. 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 today is just one quarter of the original 600,000 square-meter 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. Originally there were 108 lions in the collection; today only 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-meter tall Guanji Tower in this garden is the tallest structure in the compound and offers expansive views over the entire compound from the top. ¥80. 
• 🌍 Jinzhong City Museum (晋中市博物馆), 188 Guang'an Street, Yuci District (榆次区广安街188号) (150 metres southwest of the intersection of Guang'an Street and Xinjian North Road. Bus routes 5, 11, 13 North, 13 South, 205, and New 202). 09ː00-17ː00, no entry after 16ː00, closed on Mondays. Also closed on Chinese New Year's Eve and the first day of Chinese New Year. Open on all other public holidays, including public holidays that fall on a Monday. The Jinzhong City Museum is a brand new museum, which opened in June 2018. Visitors are limited to 4000 per day. Free. (updated Dec 2018)

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