Taigu

Taigu County is located in the central region of Shanxi Province and is situated in the Jinzhong Basin. The county was founded during the Western Han dynasty and has a long history with developed culture and trade. The county forms a well-known Shanxi merchant base along with Qi and Pingyao counties. The county contains many Shanxi merchant courtyard sites. Some of the most representative examples are the Cao Family Courtyard complex and the Kung Hsiang-hsi residential complex (Kung Hsiang-hsi was born in Taigu County). Taigu’s cakes and hubing dates are famous throughout China. Wealthy Taigu merchants gathered here during the Ming, Qing, and Republican eras, making Taigu into the finance and trade center of China’s north. This gave rise to the area being called a “dry dock” and “Little Beijing.”