Family Courtyard of Hu

 

 

Hu's courtyard is located in Taishun County, Zhejiang Province. The Taishun residential construction is very characteristic, and this courtyard is the most well-preserved single building there. It was founded in during the reign of Qianlong Emperor in the Qing Dynasty, and then got repaired in 1833. After a long history, there are still 9 households living here. The whole building was “pin” (Chinese character品)-shaped distribution, composed of two three-house courtyards. The layout is like a chessboard. In the middle of the courtyard, there are two high walls, look like the “clear demarcation line” on the board. The main feature is that the door is a symmetrical stone gatehouse. And to your surprise, drainage system has a more than one-hundred-year history, and now it can still be used. There are also three drain tanks in three sides of the courtyard to have water running down from the roof poured into them. The inside ground is low in circle and high in the middle, so in rainy days, the rain can be carried away into sewers then streams along the slope. It is so ingenious. 

The surrounding is fascinating. The front street is really quiet and fairly clean. Fresh air and beautiful trees are the only things you may feel. No noisy cars driving and making pollution except local people walking in a leisurely manner. Hu courtyard faces to the east and is surrounded by high walls. There are four doors, one entrance door and three wicket gates. Around it, sewers are connected with each other, which is the main drainage channel. The building material is fir wood. The current of fresh air can protect timber frame from damage by hot and humid weather. The courtyard has two halls, the front hall is a three-courtyard style, and the back hall is composed of northern and southern houses and the front hall. The middle is the corridor to connect the front hall and the back.