Qiao Family Compound

The Qiao family were among the Shanxi merchants who ran China's remittance banking system in the Qing dynasty, and their compound at Qiaojiabao, built from 1756 and extended over generations, is a walled complex of six large courtyards and around three hundred rooms behind a single gate, laid out in a pattern said to form the character for happiness seen from above. Grey brick walls up to ten metres high enclose it, with carved brick, wood and stone detailing throughout and a museum of Shanxi merchant culture inside. Zhang Yimou filmed Raise the Red Lantern here in 1991, and the film's red lanterns still hang in the courtyards for visitors.

What you actually see

• The courtyard layout - six courtyards and three hundred rooms behind high walls.
• The carved detailing - brick, wood and stone carving throughout the compound.
• The red lanterns - the film's lanterns kept hanging in the courtyards.
• The merchant museum - displays on Shanxi banking and trade.

When to go

April to October for comfortable weather; Chinese holidays bring heavy crowds. The compound is often combined with Pingyao, an hour south, on the same trip. Mornings are quieter.

Honest expectations

The site is popular with domestic tour groups and can be crowded and noisy. The film association is heavily marketed. English interpretation is thin, and the neighbouring Wang compound is substantially larger if scale is the interest.

Nearby

Pingyao lies south; Taiyuan is northeast.