In the 1940s, a Bai entrepreneur named Dong Chengnong, who rose from a fatherless apprentice to a tycoon by extracting valuable tungsten from tin slag, began building his estate at No. 1 Shiping Street in Xizhou. He established the Xiqingxiang firm and poured his wealth into a grand 6742-square-meter compound.

Completed in 1940, the eastern residential wing showcases classic Bai architecture. Builders assembled the timber frames using mixed tie-beam and post-and-lintel systems, carving the structures from smooth, high-grade catalpa wood. They laid foundations with white marble quarried from Yangxi on Mount Cangshan. The layout follows the traditional three buildings and one screen wall, alongside four courtyards and five lightwells. At the northeast corner, the main gateway rises with three-drip-water flying eaves, catching the mountain wind.

In 1942, Dong added a three-story French-style villa to the western side. During the Second World War, this building, later called the General's Building, housed military commanders Chen Cheng and Song Xilian, who mapped out campaigns against occupying forces.

Behind these structures lies the Dongyuan garden, where the cold, clear waters of the natural Dongquan spring flow into a central pond. Visitors walking along the century-long corridor can hear the rustle of bamboo and smell the blooming camellias. At the center of the pond, the Zhonghe Pavilion stands in quiet reflection.

Following Dong’s death in 1945, his family donated the estate to the government. For decades, the Chinese military managed the compound, using it as part of a military hospital. The sound of soldiers' boots eventually gave way to quiet recovery. In 1985, the local government took custody, converting it into the Tianzhuang Hotel in 1987 to host national leaders.

A twenty-million-RMB restoration in 2003 preserved the original materials, ensuring the old structures remained true to their history. Today, the complex is protected as a National Key Protected Cultural Relic. Operating as a boutique hotel with twenty-one rooms, it allows modern travelers to sleep beneath the same catalpa beams that witnessed the rise of the Xizhou merchants and the strategy sessions of wartime generals.