ZHU FAMILY GARDENS

After the temple of Confucius, this is Jianshui's second main attraction. The residence was built by Zhu Weiqing and his brothers, the 31 st ^{year of the Emperor Guangxu's dynasty under the Qing dynasty (late nineteenth century). The ensemble covers nearly 2 ha and consists of flags of different sizes, gardens and kiosks… Each flag embodies the typical Jianshui architecture. Even though the Zhu family gardens suffered some degradation during the Cultural Revolution, they retain all their authenticity. The last flag at the bottom of the garden has a very nice exhibition of photographs that tell the extraordinary story of the Zhu family.}

Originally from the Hunan province, the Zhu family has been enriched by industry and trade by opening shops in Yunnan, Sichuan, Guangdong, Guangxi and Hong Kong. The Zhu were great notable notables in southern Yunnan. Both brothers, Zhu Chengzhang and Zhu Chengzao, purchased with their children several hectares in the city of Jianshui, where they began to build their residence. It took them thirty years to complete it completely. The Zhu brothers subsequently decided to invest in mines. In a few years, they became the most famous capitalists in the mining industry in southern China and their wealth continued to grow.

From 1903, the glorious fate of the Zhu family began to fail. In 1903, their mines were confiscated, and a decade later the two brothers were forced to flee, their shops being looted by bandits. In 1916, their property was seized because of their support to General Yuan Shikai. The city of Jianshui fell into the hands of the army, and the property of the Zhu was confiscated. In 1927, both brothers were imprisoned. The tragic fate of this family generated many polemics. Since 1999, the Zhu family gardens are open to visit: a walk that will plunge you into China's history and make you discover one of the country's best preserved traditional residences.