Prince Gong's Mansion, or Gong Wang Fu, occupies a large block of the old city a few minutes north of Shichahai. It is the biggest and most complete princely residence surviving in Beijing, and the only one open to the public that keeps the full sequence of a Qing nobleman's household - gate, formal halls, living quarters and garden.
Its history
The mansion was built in the late eighteenth century for Heshen, a powerful and famously corrupt official of the Qianlong reign. After his fall it passed through several hands before being given in 1851 to Prince Gong, a brother of the Xianfeng Emperor and a leading figure in the Qing court's attempts at reform. He lived here for decades, and the building has carried his name ever since. In the twentieth century it was divided into apartments and workshops, which paradoxically protected the fabric from redevelopment.
The house
The residential section follows the standard courtyard plan on a grand scale: a screen wall, a wide entrance hall, then a series of north-south courtyards with increasingly private halls around them. Note the roof tiles, the decorative ridge figures, the stone drum bases and the carved screens. Several rooms hold displays of Qing furniture, robes, ceramics and calligraphy, and the large theatre hall, where private opera performances were staged, is one of the most striking spaces in the complex.
The garden
The garden occupies the northern half of the site and is the part most visitors remember. It is dense with northern-style rockeries, winding paths and latticed windows, built to create views at every turn. The highlight is a covered walkway shaped like a bat - a pun on the word for good fortune - with a carved wooden screen. There are ponds, pavilions, ancient trees and a long artificial mountain ridge, all compressed into a small area.
Visiting
The mansion is a short walk from Shichahai station on Line 8 or Beihai North on Line 6. It opens daily and charges admission, with tickets sold in limited numbers on busy days, so arriving early helps. Allow two hours. Because it sits in the middle of the Shichahai and Houhai area, it fits naturally into a day that also takes in the lakes and the hutongs.
