All of the collections have been stored in the museum, where once lived a princess during the Qing dynasty. The Princess Palace is a typical well-preserved siheyuan, originally built for Princess Heshuo, who, under the help of the Emperor Guang Xu, escaped an engagement with the son of Ronglu, an army General. Princess Heshuo was originally named Yu Deling. Her father Yu Geng was a Chinese ambassador in France, and her mother was French. 

First owner of the Princess Palace: Princess Heshuo

A siheyuan is a historical type of residence that was commonly found throughout China, most famously in Beijing. The name literally means a courtyard surrounded by four buildings. In English, siheyuan are sometimes referred to as Chinese quadrangles.

Throughout Chinese history, the siheyuan composition was the basic pattern used for residences, palaces, temples, monasteries, family, businesses and government offices. In ancient times, a spacious siheyuan would be occupied by a single, usually large and extended family, signifying wealth and prosperity. Today, however, most remaining siheyuan are used as mass housing complexes, and suffer from a lack of modern amenities.

By Xie Fang