In the heart of Baoding stands the last surviving judicial building from imperial China. This is the Former Site of the Zhili Court, a silent witness to the dramatic birth of modern Chinese law. Constructed on the orders of Viceroy Yuan Shikai, its completion in 1910 marked a revolutionary act: the first separation of local administrative power from judicial authority.

The building itself is a dialogue in brick and mortar. Its "回"-shaped courtyard layout, a classic southern Chinese design, is rendered in the blue brick and arched windows of the late Qing era, creating a unique fusion of Eastern tradition and Western influence. Within this two-story complex of North, South, East, and West buildings, connected by reddish-brown wooden staircases, history unfolded.

Its walls hold monumental echoes. In 1952, the Hebei Provincial People's Court, then housed here, presided over the nation’s first major anti-corruption trial, that of Liu Qingshan and Zhang Zishan. The verdict, delivered from these halls, resonated across the new republic.

From its origins as a Qing martial arts examination ground to its role as the progenitor of China's modern courts, the site embodies a profound transition. It is the only extant local judicial institution from the dynasty's final years, a physical anchor point in the evolution of Chinese legal practice. Designified a National Key Cultural Heritage Site in 2013, it stands as the foundational stone upon which contemporary Chinese justice was built.