So beautiful! Xiaolianzhuang, a must-visit attraction in Nanxun Ancient Town, was built by the grandsons of Liu Yong, the richest man in Nanxun, for 40 years.

When going to Nanxun Ancient Town, there is one place you cannot miss, and that is Xiaolianzhuang. Even people who have never been to Nanxun Ancient Town have heard about this Xiaolianzhuang for a long time, because its owner was Liu Yong, a wealthy businessman in Nanxun during the Qing Dynasty. Of course, you should not confuse him with the Prime Minister Liu Luoguo Liu Yong, who is a businessman here.

Yes, Xiaolianzhuang is a private garden of Liu Yong, the richest man in Nanxun. Although so many years have passed, the huge wealth preserved in Liu's residence is still surprising, and many people just want to take a look. I went to Xiaolianzhuang because I wanted to see how rich the richest man in Nanxun was.

Xiaolianzhuang is one of the only "Five Giant Structures" in the ancient town of Nanxun that has been completely preserved. It is said that its owner admired Huzhou Lianhuazhuang built by Zhao Mengfu, a famous calligrapher and painter of the Yuan Dynasty, so he also gave it to himself. I gave my garden this name. Xiaolianzhuang was built in 1885 and is a national key cultural relics protection unit. It is not easy to say that this garden took the Liu family's ancestors and grandchildren for 40 years and three generations of efforts. It was not completed until 1924 by Liu Chengqian. Therefore, it contains the efforts of several generations of the Liu family.

As the trump card attraction of Nanxun Ancient Town. Xiaolianzhuang is outstandingly beautiful and elegant, and the exquisite garden design is full of winding paths and secluded beauty. It’s great to come here to enjoy the lotuses in the summer. To enjoy lotus flowers, you can go to the ten-acre lotus pond in the outer garden. This place was called "Guaolao Pond" in ancient times and is commonly known as "Yuchijing". In the hot summer, the fish look like lotuses, the wind sways the lotuses, and the green leaves and red flowers set off the pavilions by the pool. It's really beautiful.

Xiaolianzhuang can be roughly divided into two parts. One is the garden area centered on the lotus pond, and the other is the building of the Liu Family Temple next to it. So we want to focus on the Liu Family Temple. In front of the family temple, there are two imperial archways that are particularly well-preserved to this day, which are a symbol of the Liu family's status. In front of the gate, there is an imperial archway, screen wall, stone lions, and banners. The family temple has two temples and three entrances. The first and second entrances are the foyer and the passing hall. Street signs, lanterns and other objects are placed in the passing hall.

The courtyard architecture of Xiaolianzhuang is really majestic, and the furnishings and layout are also quite particular. When you come here, you can feel the majesty of a wealthy family. Contemporary writer Huang Shang once compared it with the Jia family's ancestral hall in "A Dream of Red Mansions", which shows that the scale of Liu's family temple is rare in Jiangnan.

The main body of the inner garden (back garden) is a rockery made of stacked Taihu stones. It is modeled after the artistic conception of "Mountain Journey" by Du Mu, a poet of the Tang Dynasty: "Far up the cold mountain, the stone path is slanted, and there are homes deep in the white clouds. Stop and sit in the maple forest at night, the frost leaves are as red as the flowers in February." For photography enthusiasts, Xiaolianzhuang is considered to be the best scenic spot in Nanxun Ancient Town to take good pictures.