Jincheng / history

A Chief Minister's Fortress Home: How to Visit Huangcheng Xiangfu

Q: What should you look at?

The inner fortress. Climb Heshan Lou if it is open; the stair and stores inside show what a siege tower meant in practice. Look at the hidden soldier cave-galleries (藏兵洞) built into the wall. The outer town. Here are the formal halls, the imperial book tower and the inscribed arches. They show how a provincial family put its success at court on public display. Daily performances. The scenic area stages short costume shows of a reenacted imperial reception through the day. They are lively, and they bring crowds. Walk on to quieter lanes if you want to look at the buildings.

Q: Which ticket?

According to the operator, quoted by Southern Metropolis Daily in June 2026, the common adult options are 120 yuan for Huangcheng Xiangfu and the Xiangfu Manor next door, or 150 yuan adding Guoyu Ancient Town and the Haihui Academy, with shuttles between them. Travel articles describe the 150-yuan ticket as valid for three days. Since late May 2026 both tickets include the free sightseeing bus from the visitor centre, which sits about 1.8 km from the gate. The 150-yuan ticket is the better deal if you will walk to Guoyu next door, which is the more lived-in of the two places.

Q: Tickets and hours — what should you check?

Checked October 2026 (Asia/Shanghai). The official site (hcxfjq.com) and its WeChat ticketing win over this page. Price basis. The provincial price approval sets a 100-yuan standard ticket that can move up or down by 20% by season. Peak season runs from 1 April to 31 October, low season from 1 November to 31 March. That is why listings show 120 yuan in peak season and about 100 yuan in low season. If you visit in November or later, expect the lower price and check it. Hours. The group's Guoyu site lists summer 8:00–18:00 (18:30 on Fridays, Saturdays and holidays) and winter 8:00–17:30. Huangcheng Xiangfu publishes no separate times on its site, so assume similar and check. Rail discount. China Railway's Zhengzhou bureau says passengers arriving by high-speed train at Jincheng East get a ticket discount within three days of arrival, through 31 December 2026. Ask at the ticket window with your rail record. Phone. Guoyu's company line, 0356-6922226.

Huangcheng Xiangfu is the walled family compound of Qing chief minister Chen Tingjing in Yangcheng; choose the 120-yuan ticket for the mansion alone or 150 yuan to add Guoyu and Haihui over three days, and allow half a day.

Published October 20, 2026

Grey-brick walls, courtyard roofs and the tall refuge tower of Huangcheng Xiangfu, Yangcheng.

Huangcheng Xiangfu (皇城相府) is the fortified home of the Chen family of Yangcheng, whose best-known son, Chen Tingjing (陈廷敬), served as a chief minister under the Kangxi emperor. Buy the 120-yuan ticket for the mansion alone, or 150 yuan to add Guoyu and Haihui over three days, and give it half a day.

Who was Chen Tingjing, and why is his house a fortress?

Chen Tingjing (1638–1712) passed the imperial examinations young and rose to be one of Kangxi's senior ministers, and a chief editor of the Kangxi Dictionary. His family were already rich from local trade. In the late Ming, when rebel armies roamed southern Shanxi, they built walls and a tall refuge tower, the Heshan Lou (河山楼), to shelter the clan. Later generations added an outer town of halls, gates and courtyards. The name xiangfu means a chief minister's residence, and huangcheng refers to the imperial visit the family liked to claim.

What should you look at?

The inner fortress. Climb Heshan Lou if it is open; the stair and stores inside show what a siege tower meant in practice. Look at the hidden soldier cave-galleries (藏兵洞) built into the wall.

The outer town. Here are the formal halls, the imperial book tower and the inscribed arches. They show how a provincial family put its success at court on public display.

Daily performances. The scenic area stages short costume shows of a reenacted imperial reception through the day. They are lively, and they bring crowds. Walk on to quieter lanes if you want to look at the buildings.

Which ticket?

According to the operator, quoted by Southern Metropolis Daily in June 2026, the common adult options are 120 yuan for Huangcheng Xiangfu and the Xiangfu Manor next door, or 150 yuan adding Guoyu Ancient Town and the Haihui Academy, with shuttles between them. Travel articles describe the 150-yuan ticket as valid for three days. Since late May 2026 both tickets include the free sightseeing bus from the visitor centre, which sits about 1.8 km from the gate.

The 150-yuan ticket is the better deal if you will walk to Guoyu next door, which is the more lived-in of the two places.

Tickets and hours — what should you check?

Checked October 2026 (Asia/Shanghai). The official site (hcxfjq.com) and its WeChat ticketing win over this page.

Price basis. The provincial price approval sets a 100-yuan standard ticket that can move up or down by 20% by season. Peak season runs from 1 April to 31 October, low season from 1 November to 31 March. That is why listings show 120 yuan in peak season and about 100 yuan in low season. If you visit in November or later, expect the lower price and check it.

Hours. The group's Guoyu site lists summer 8:00–18:00 (18:30 on Fridays, Saturdays and holidays) and winter 8:00–17:30. Huangcheng Xiangfu publishes no separate times on its site, so assume similar and check.

Rail discount. China Railway's Zhengzhou bureau says passengers arriving by high-speed train at Jincheng East get a ticket discount within three days of arrival, through 31 December 2026. Ask at the ticket window with your rail record.

Phone. Guoyu's company line, 0356-6922226.

How do you get there, and how long?

It is in Yangcheng county, roughly an hour from Jincheng East station by bus or coach. See getting around Jincheng. Allow three to four hours for the mansion and manor, and a full day if you add Guoyu and Haihui.

Cover photo: Underbar dk / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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