These serve as kitchens and servants' living quarters. The up-turn eaves provide a pleasant shade in summer. One room amid is for living or community purposes with a smaller bedroom or studies beside. Through two passages on each side of the Main House, one can enter the inner yard. Rooms on each side were for married children and their families.
Greenery planted in the courtyard presents an inner garden.
Some large compounds have two or more courtyards, inhabited by an extended family with several generations. Beijing still has about 400,000 residential quadrangles now, mainly distributed over the East, West, Xuanwu and Chongwen districts. The municipal government has earmarked a number of dwelling compounds for protection. If you would like to share your wonderful travel stories with others, then click here .