Marshal Zhang's Mansion

Background

Marshal Zhang's Mansion stands at No. 46 Shaoshuaifu Lane, Chaoyang Street, in Shenyang's Shenhe District, close to the Shenyang Imperial Palace and the Zhongjie shopping area. Construction began in 1914 and Zhang Zuolin moved in in 1916; father and son ran the military and political affairs of the Northeast and received guests here, making the mansion a tangible witness to Northeast politics in the Republican era. It opened as a museum in 1988, and in 2017 it was named one of China's 20th-Century Architectural Heritage sites. The complex mixes Chinese and Western styles: the central courtyard is a siheyuan with three successive courtyards, and there are also the Daqing Building (Daqinglou, a Romanesque grey-brick building), the Xiaoqing Building, a Guandi Temple, the former Frontier Bank (Bianye Bank) and the Red Buildings of the west courtyard. The Daqing Building was once the second-tallest building in the city of Fengtian, surpassed only by the Phoenix Tower. Chinese courtyard houses stand alongside Romanesque, Nordic and Japanese elements, reflecting Northeast China's contacts with the outside world in the early Republican years. The grounds also include the former residence of Zhao Yidi and the Finance Museum (in the former Frontier Bank), which you can see on the same visit.

Local customs

• Go through in the order central courtyard — Daqing Building — Xiaoqing Building to compare the Chinese and Western architecture
• in the Daqing Building, see Zhang Zuolin's office, bedroom, banquet hall and the furnishings of the Tiger Hall
• then add the Shenyang Imperial Palace and Zhongjie for a half-day outing.

Travel tips

• The mansion is made up of several courtyards and is seen on foot
• its area is given as either 36,000 m² or over 53,000 m². It adjoins the Shenyang Imperial Palace and Zhongjie, so it combines well with both. It is within walking distance of Zhongjie and Huaiyuanmen stations on Shenyang Metro Line 1, or you can take a bus or taxi to the Zhongjie area. The exhibits are mostly indoors, so you can visit all year with little effect from the season
• in the mild weather of spring and autumn it pairs especially well with a stroll along Zhongjie.