The Site of the Mansion of Ili General

Attractions Overview

The mansion was the seat of "Ili General" highest military and political organization dispatched by Qing Dynasty to station in Xinjiang. Now it is listed as major cultural site under state protection.

English Name: The Site of the Mansion of Ili General
Type: Ili Scenic Area, Ili famous spots & Ili attractions
Best Time: All Year Around
Recommended Visiting Hours: 2-3 hours

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Why is The Site of the Mansion of Ili General So Special?

The former site of the General’s Office, which faces south, remains in the city. The ancient trees in the courtyard are towering. Hall, terrace, winding path and cloister still exist. The small and exquisite “General Pavilion” has been renovated and stands among the pine trees. In the past, a pair of stone lions with strange shapes in front of the general’s office still exist in the hospital. They are lifelike and endearing.

In the center of Huiyuan ancient city stands the magnificent and tall bell and drum tower, which overlooks the tower and offers a panoramic view of the city and beyond. In history, famous exiles such as Hong Liangji, Qi Yunshi, Lin Zexu, Deng Tingzhen and Xu Song all left brilliant achievements here. Lin Zexu led the people to open water conservancy, consolidate border defense and benefit the people. He was respected and trusted by Yili General and people of all ethnic groups. Although Lin Zexu was in Huiyuan for only two years, his diaries, poems and letters were widely circulated.

Where is The Site of the Mansion of Ili General

The Site of the Mansion of Ili General Located 200 meters to the due west of the Bell Tower, the mansion faces south. It includes a hall, corridor, General pavilion, and stone lions.

Main Attraction of The Site of the Mansion of Ili General

The former site of the General Mansion was built in 1882 and faces south. The whole building is a quadrangle-style, civil-structure, cornice-type herringbone-beam bungalow with square bricks on the ground, strip-shaped bricks on the wall foundation, clods in the interior, a roof made of wood boards in the room, cloisters in the courtyard, and a government gate building in the west, which is a two-story civil building. There is a pavilion at the back with simple and elegant eaves and no carved beams. According to historical records, in addition to the general’s office, the general’s office also has six agencies, namely, the printing office (confidential documents), the book office (books), the grain and expense office, the camp office, the camel horse office and the merit office.

The main buildings include the main gate of the military mansion, the main hall of the general mansion, the general pavilion, east and west barracks, guest rooms, study rooms, etc. The gate has a single-eave, hard-mountain, tile-roofed structure, with three rooms wide, two rooms deep, and a beam-lifting wooden structure. Taiming and stomping are built of stone, which is no longer available. The earmuffs on the east and west sides of the gate are hard mountain tile-roofed buildings, three in width and one in depth. They are of beam-lifting structure and are decorated with new doors and windows. The East and West Barracks are single-eaved hard mountain tile roof structures with 14 rooms wide, one room deep and one front porch. The other surfaces outside the front eaves are enclosed by walls. Bricks are used for the lower sill and the front and rear stubs of the two gable walls. Adobe is used for other parts. Eight groups of adobe walls are used to divide the interior into nine chambers with different sizes. The study is five rooms wide and one room deep. It goes out of the corridor before and after. Brick is used for the back embankment and lower sill of the two mountain walls, and the corridor wall is used as an arch rolling door. The guest room is five rooms wide, 6.3 meters deep, 5.45 meters high, and exits the corridor at the front. The main hall, with a width of five rooms and a depth of one room, is 7 meters high, with front and rear verandahs, and a single-eaved Xie shan buwa roof structure. The office is five rooms wide and one room deep, with a height of 5.2 meters. It has a front porch, a single-eaved hard mountain tile roof structure, and eight purlins with four columns. The living room is five rooms wide and one room deep, with a veranda in front and a single-eaved hard mountain tile roof. The front and rear mounds and lower sills of the two mountain walls are made of brick, and the gallery walls are used as arch gates.

Best Time to Travel The Site of the Mansion of Ili General

Every autumn, that is, August and September, is the best time to visit Ili.

At this time, the weather began to cool and the fruits began to mature. This is a very suitable time to travel. At this time, most scenic spots began to hang attractive gold. Let’s travel in the golden ocean. The natural scenery around Ili is very beautiful. In our spare time , we take our family to Ili to play, eat delicious fruits and enjoy different local conditions and customs. I believe this is a very beautiful moment and a very happy memory.

How to Get There

Transportation of Ili General Office, Huocheng County, Xinjiang: You can take a plane from Urumqi to Yining City, then change buses to Huocheng County, and then charter a bus to the site of Ili General Office at a price of about 100 yuan.

Useful Travel Tips

The morning light in summer in Xinjiang is earlier, it is about 6:30 in the morning in the plain area and it will light up at about 7:00 in the mountain area, but breakfast in Xinjiang hotels usually starts at 8:30, lunch time is 13: 00-14: 30, dinner time is about 19: 30-20: 30, and the sun will not set until 22:30 in the evening, so pay attention to adjust the time difference when traveling to Xinjiang.
Xinjiang has a large number of halal meals, mainly beef and mutton. Cities also have Sichuan, Hunan, Guangdong and other local restaurants with national characteristics. In remote areas and scenic spots, halal meals are the main food. Pasta is the main staple food in Xinjiang, but rice is the main food for group meals. Sheep meat is the main meat in Xinjiang, and the smell of mutton is very small, which is acceptable to the general public.