Viewed from the flank, the residence of the Xia brothers does not resemble a typical country home so much as a monumental sedan chair, set down permanently amidst the hills of Rongxian. Built in 1930 and originally named "Three Phoenix Hall," the structure was the shared ambition of three brothers, most notably the generals Xia Wei and Xia Guozhang. They were central figures in the New Guangxi Clique, and the architecture mirrors the specific, transitional moment of their era: the roof sweeps upward in the traditional Xieshan style, asserting a connection to ancient Chinese authority, while the walls are composed of sturdy, Western-style brickwork.

The design betrays a fundamental tension between the desire for leisure and the necessity of survival. While the upper floors feature airy verandas and a graceful double-arched bridge connecting to the rear quarters, the ground level acts as a fortified, semi-concealed basement. Even in this rural retreat, built during a brief lull in their military careers, the brothers engineered the space to withstand a siege.

The "sedan chair" ultimately carried a heavy grief. Xia Guozhang had little time to inhabit these rooms; he was killed in action in 1937 during the Shanghai campaign, becoming one of the first high-ranking officers to fall in the war against Japan. In the spring of 1938, the surviving brother, Xia Wei, planted a Acacia tree in the courtyard to mark the loss. Today, the moss-covered villa stands silent, but the acacia remains—a brother’s grief rooted in the soil, outliving the battles they fought.