The Imperial City Mansion, an astonishing official residence castle

Picture 1 shows the carvings on the courtyard wall inside the castle, depicting a monkey picking grapes, which is so vivid and interesting. Pictures 15 and 16 show the Chunqiu Pavilion at the northwest corner of the outer courtyard of the castle. Pictures 17, 18, 19, and 20 all show exquisite wood and stone carvings inside the inner courtyard of the castle. The first gate at the entrance of the scenic area is the Imperial Book Tower. It is not uncommon for city towers to serve as the gates of residences in Shanxi. The Wang Family Compound is also a castle-style building, but it is rare to see city towers with inscriptions by the emperor! The plaque and couplets on the city tower were personally inscribed by Emperor Kangxi (the top of this tower is covered with golden tiles)! Pictures 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.