Wei’s Manor is located in Weiji Town, Huimin County, Shandong Province, and is a nationally important cultural heritage site as well as a national AAA-level tourist attraction. It is known as one of the ‘Three Great Manors of China,’ alongside Yantai Mou’s Manor and Sichuan Liu Wencai’s Manor, and is the only existing castle-style manor in the country. The Wei family, a prominent clan in the northern part of Shandong, has had more than twenty members serving in the imperial court over six generations, with some reaching the rank of Zheng Erpin.
They owned over three thousand acres of fertile land around Weiji Village and operated several banks and pawnshops in the North China region, using ‘Xiehe’ and ‘Xie Zeng’ as their business names, making them a prominent family that combined the roles of officials, landlords, and merchants.Wei’s Manor is composed of three groups of buildings: Shude Hall, Xuyi Hall, and Fushou Hall, all constructed during the Qing Dynasty. The manor is grand in scale and well-constructed, covering an area of 32,543 square meters with nearly a hundred rooms, and has a history of over a hundred years. Among them, Shude Hall is distinctive as the private residence of Wei Zhijiang, the Tongzhi of Wu Ding Prefecture during the Qing Dynasty, built between the 16th and 19th years of the Guangxu era (1890-1893 AD). It was designed by a master from the Imperial Construction Society and meticulously constructed by many skilled craftsmen.
The manor faces east and is majestic in appearance, consisting of residences, squares, ponds, gardens, and ancestral halls. Its characteristic is the integration of military defensive city wall architecture with traditional Beijing-style quadrangle residences, creating a unique architectural style. The castle-style residence is the main body of the manor’s architecture, with the city wall architecture being rectangular, following the construction patterns and features of ancient Chinese city walls, including city gates, gate towers, horse faces, and the innovative addition of protruding bastions.
Due to its strong military defensive characteristics and the use of city wall architecture in traditional residences, it serves as a model of the application of Sun Tzu’s Art of War in residential architecture. The inner residence is the core of the manor’s architectural complex, designed and constructed according to the Qing Dynasty’s ‘Ministry of Works Engineering Regulations.’ Each individual building is arranged along the vertical axis, forming independent units.
The manor also features a mill courtyard, with a large amount of coal buried underground within the mill courtyard, and stores a large quantity of grain and oil. In the event of war or consecutive years of famine, the city gates could be closed for three years, and the manor could still be self-sufficient without external aid, reflecting the self-sufficient economic model of feudal society.
The architecture of the Xuyi Hall and the Fushou Hall is exquisitely crafted, each with its unique style, and they also exhibit distinct regional characteristics. Wei’s Manor possesses a profound cultural heritage, reflecting the superb architectural skills and the profoundness of the Chinese nation’s culture. With the increased efforts in recent years on maintenance and development, along with the enrichment of the internal displays, the aim is to restore the manor to its former glory, making it an excellent place for people to experience the colorful folk culture of North Shandong.
The manor is open all year round from 08:30 to 17:00. However, during holidays, Golden Weeks, or other special circumstances, the operating hours may be temporarily adjusted according to the on-site announcements at the scenic area.Preferential Policies: Children: Children aged 6 years old (inclusive) or under 1.4 meters (inclusive) in height are admitted free of charge; minors aged 6 years old (exclusive) to 18 years old (inclusive) and children between 1.4 meters (exclusive) to 1.6 meters (inclusive) are eligible for half-price tickets.
Disabled: People with disabilities (with a disability certificate or a disabled soldier’s certificate; one accompanying person for blind people, double lower limb disabilities, and those with severe disabilities of first or second level are admitted free of charge).
Elderly: People aged 60 years old (inclusive) and above are admitted free of charge.
Military Personnel: Active-duty military personnel (with valid identification: Soldier’s Certificate, Non-Commissioned Officer’s Certificate, Student Certificate, Officer’s Certificate, Conscript Certificate) and retired military personnel (with a Retired Military Personnel Preference Certificate, Certificate of Military Retiree, Military Retirement Certificate, National Comprehensive Fire and Rescue Team with valid identification are admitted free of charge).
Tour Guides and Bus Drivers: Tour guides with a national guide certificate (IC card) issued by the National Tourism Administration and team bus drivers with a Class A driver’s license (must be used in conjunction with a team entry proof for the same day) are admitted free of charge.
Blood Donors: Individuals with provincial voluntary blood donation awards, voluntary hematopoietic stem cell donation awards, and lifetime honorary awards for voluntary blood donation services (must carry relevant award certificates) are admitted free of charge.
Journalists: Journalists with a press card issued by the National Press and Publication Administration are admitted free of charge.
High-Level Talents: Individuals with ‘Shandong Talent Card’ or ‘Bohai Talent Service Card’ and other high-level talents (carrying their ID card, invitation letter (electronic or paper) for the Talent Festival, work card, attendance card, guest card, and other relevant certificates, as well as greeting cards, exclusive badges, and other proofs of participation in the third Binzhou Talent Festival) are admitted free of charge.
Anti-Pandemic Heroes: Anti-pandemic heroes with a pandemic hero card (Cultural Tourism Thanksgiving Card) can use this card for themselves and bring two additional people for free, valid until March 31, 2025.
Students: Full-time undergraduate students and below with a student ID are eligible for half-price tickets.
