The magnificent buildings of Prince Gong's Mansion

Prince Gong's Mansion is one of the most ornate and extravagant royal residences in Beijing. My friend and I visited it last Sunday.

The mansion is located north of Shichahai Lake in the western part of central Beijing. It was built in 1777 by imperial minister He Shen during the reign of Emperor Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty.

Prince Gong's Mansion has been open to the public since November 1996. The grounds cover 60,000 square meters, including the buildings and a 28,000-square-meter garden.

The buildings include several classic siheyuan courtyards. The garden has an artificial hill and rocks from Taihu Lake in Jiangsu Province.

When He Shen won the trust of Emperor Qianlong, he was promoted within the imperial administration and became very wealthy.

He stored the gold that he made through corrupt deals in the hollow walls of the mansion. Five thousand kilograms of gold was found just in the walls when the mansion was confiscated after new China was founded.

He Shen was very clever. He built a huge 156-meter-long mansion with 108 rooms. Each of the mansion's of windows has a different shape. He kept jewelry, antiques and money in various rooms, so that he could see all his possessions when he looked through the windows.

The mansion features an eight-meter-long stele containing the Chinese character "fu", which implies "fortune". It is based on the calligraphy of Emperor Kangxi. The character has five meanings: more sons, more talent, more money, a longer life, and more good luck. Tourists swarm to the stele to stand before it and pray for what they want.

In 1851, Emperor Xianfeng assigned the mansion to his brother, Prince Gong, whose name it bears today.

A visit to Prince Gong's Mansion is a trip back to the Qing Dynasty.

We lost ourselves in the interesting and amazing stories the tour guide told us about the mansion and its original owner, He Shen.

If you have already been to the Imperial Palace or the Summer Palace, you might as well come to Prince Gong's Mansion for a visit.