Wang's Residence (Wangshì xiaoyuàn)

Wang's Residence (Wangshì xiaoyuàn) Review

This was once one among dozens of private mansions belonging to Yangzhou's prosperous merchant class, but it alone survived the ravages of the Cultural Revolution, thanks to its conversion into a factory. Keep an eye out for the exquisite wood carving, especially the crisscrossing bamboo design carved in layers out of nanmu, a glimmering wood now extinct in this area of China. There's even a bomb shelter in the small inner garden—a reminder of the Japanese invasion.