I don’t think you can find a prince’s mansion named after He shen, the most prominent corrupt official during the reign of Emperor Qianlong in the Qing dynasty, for the residence of the corrupt official has been renamed Prince Gong’s Mansion. But why?

The Prince Gong’s Mansion, located in the scenic area of Shichahai, is the largest prince residence of the Qing dynasty, once owned by He Shen and Yong Lin. In 1851, a prince entitled Gongqinwang became owner of the residence, and so it got its today’s name.

The mansion witnessed the rise and fall of the Qing dynasty and carries very rich historical and cultural information. Therefore, people usually say: “One Prince Gong’s Mansion, half of the history of the Qing dynasty.” Taken care of by Zhou Enlai, Gu Mu and Li Lanqing, former leaders of the State Council of China, this prince’s residence experienced 28 years of renovation and cleaning and has become a public scenic spot for tourists.

After the collapse of the Qing dynasty, the property right of the residence once belonged to a university, and then to 8 units and hundreds of families living in Beijing in the 1980s. After these families moved out of the residence and some repair was complimented, the garden of the residence was first open to the public in 1988. In 2008, the residence was open to the public after the entire repair.

The Prince Gong’s Mansion is located in the scenic area of Shichahai and covers an area of 60,000 square meters. It looks luxurious and magnificent indeed!