The Luzhou Li Mansion is grand in scale and complete in form, covering more than 1,200 square meters. It exudes the generous air of a local gentry’s residence while retaining the simple, rustic character of a traditional farmhouse—an exemplary estate of a prosperous clan. This historic home was the residence of Taiwan’s renowned anti-Japanese hero Li You-bang; locals call it “Li Ancestral Hall.”
The building, a cultural asset with over 155 years of history (built in 1857, totaling 155 years by 2012), was first erected by the second-generation ancestor Li Qing-shui. In the 29th year of Emperor Guangxu’s reign, the seven branches of the Li family pooled their resources to rebuild it. Its courtyard-house roof is among the most splendid and awe-inspiring of its kind still standing in Taiwan, both in its present layout, configuration, and post-renovation appearance.
Designated a Grade-3 historic site, it officially opened to the public in 2006 as “Li Ancestral Mansion – General Li You-bang Memorial Hall.” After the First Sino-Japanese War, rather than losing heart, the Li family resolved to expand their ancestral home, using architecture to express their deep roots in Chinese culture. Nearly nine years of construction transformed the mansion and its surroundings into Luzhou’s landmark of the era.
Beyond its antique architecture, the house preserves an eight-poster antique bed, dressing table, stone mill, traditional kitchen stove, and more—everything just as it was a century ago—recording Taiwan’s most vivid slice of living history.