Weishan Shi Family Courtyard

In 1946, during the thirty-fifth year of the Republic of China, a wealthy resident of Weishan built a home just east of the historic Gongchen Tower. This builder possessed a quiet obsession with local orchids, designing the entire compound to shelter these delicate mountain flowers. He arranged the residence in the traditional Bai ethnic style, combining a "Three Bays and a Screen Wall" layout with a "Four Courtyards and Five Lightwells" configuration.

Step past the threshold to feel the cool shadow of the screen wall. Symmetrical wooden corridors frame the sky, guiding rainwater down into the five stone lightwells. The scent of blooming orchids still drifts through the air, a sensory echo of the original owner's botanical passion. Look closely at the pillars to find the chisel marks left by carpenters on the detailed wooden and brick carvings.

Following the mid-20th century, the private residence became a public space. For decades, county finance officers sat at wooden desks beneath these carved beams, managing the region's accounts. The building served as the Weishan County Finance Office, its quiet domestic spaces filled with the rustle of ledger papers and the stamp of official seals.

In December 2019, the courtyard entered a new era. Under Weishan County's "Ancient Building Adoption" policy, OCT Yunnan Expo Tourism leased the compound for conservation. Today, this county-level Cultural Relics Protection Unit operates as a boutique guesthouse under the names Youlanju and Huilanyuan. Modern travelers run their fingers over the smooth, polished wood of the old columns. They sleep in guest suites named after specific orchid species, surrounded by live botanical collections that honor the builder's original vision. The Shi Family Courtyard remains a living record of Weishan, where the domestic, the administrative, and the natural world converge.