The Zhang Family Garden in Tuanshan Village, Jianshui, Yunnan

The Zhang Family Garden in Tuanshan Village was built during the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, covering an area of more than 3,000 square meters. Its architectural style is a fortress-like courtyard complex. The garden combines different architectural styles from the Yunnan Yi ethnic group's earth buildings, Jiangnan gardens, and defensive castles. Hence, the Zhang Family Garden is also known as the Castle Garden. The owners of the Zhang Family Garden, Zhang Guoyi and Zhang Guomin, were immensely wealthy. They made their fortune from tin mining and later became rich merchants, second only to the wealthiest Zhu family in Jianshui. After becoming wealthy, they returned to their village to undertake massive construction projects, resulting in the Zhang Family Garden that is preserved to this day. Entering the Zhang Family Garden, one is greeted by a residence with dark tiles and flying eaves. Inside, it is divided into three sections with 119 rooms, 21 courtyards, and an elegant garden temple and defensive turret. Due to their substantial wealth and to protect against invasions, the turrets were designed with gun holes in the walls for better observation of enemies, making the garden easy to defend and hard to attack. The second section of the Zhang Family Garden is the garden temple, which is the area that has been preserved and renovated. It retains the architectural layout from a century ago, with an artificial pond in the center surrounded by four two-story buildings with flying eaves. With rockeries, flowing springs, and flowers in the pond, one can enjoy a cup of tea in the garden or on the pavilion, quietly savoring a conversation with the century-old history.