Weishan Xu Family Courtyard

At No. 58 Risheng Street, the Weishan Xu Family Courtyard stands as a silent witness to a family that traded privilege for revolution. Built during the late Qing and early Republican eras, this 1,293.9-square-meter compound was the ancestral home of Xu Xiantai, an alumnus of the Imperial University of Peking who served as a county magistrate in Chongning, Sichuan.

The architecture reflects the traditional Dali style. Constructed with local earth walls and dark clay tiles, the timber-and-earth frame follows the classic "Four Courtyards and Five Skywells" layout. Visitors can feel the cool surface of the earth walls and hear their footsteps echo in the open skywells. In the North and South yards, connected by a circular stone doorway, local artisans carved dragons and phoenixes directly into the wooden beams of the wing rooms. These carvings remain sharp to the touch, carrying the scent of aged pine.

This comfortable estate was the birthplace of the seven Xu siblings, including Xu Kejia, Xu Kejun, and Xu Kexian. Influenced by their father, they abandoned their wealthy lifestyle. Xu Kejia became the first Communist Party member in Weishan, fought in the Guangzhou Uprising, and died in Shantou in 1928. His sisters, Xu Kejun and Xu Kexian, became pioneers of the Yunnan women's movement. The family also welcomed prominent revolutionaries Lin Yuying and Liu Linyuan as sons-in-law.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the courtyard housed local women's organizations and cadres in the 1960s. In 2021, the Yunnan Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau designated the compound as a provincial revolutionary relic. Today, it serves as the Exhibition Hall of the Revolutionary Deeds of the Xu Siblings.