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It took us 30 minutes to get to the Mansion of Family Li by car from the Pingle Ancient Town.
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When we stood at the gate, an old mansion came into our sight.
The stone stages have witnessed the long history of the Mansion.
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It is the largest architecture of the Qing Dynasty Style and under protection in the west of Sichuan.
We met Mrs. Li, who is more than 70 years old and lives in the Mansion.
Students were asking her something about the Mansion.
Cheng Ke pointed to the place where the board was conferred by the emperor.
interview with Mrs. Li
He Lu: Hello, Mrs. Li. We are students from Pingle Middle School. Would you like to tell us something about the Mansion?
Mrs. Li: Of course.
He Lu: How many years does the Mansion exist now?
Mrs. Li: It became famous in the Qing Dynasty and has been more than 120 years.
Ji Hengxue: Would you like to tell us something interesting about the Mansion?
Mrs. Li: In the Qing Dynasty, the owner of the Mansion was rather rich, often spent money building roads and bridges and helping poor people. He was a very kind man. When Guangxu Emperor drank the tea from our family and wanted to give something to him, he declined. So the emperor gave him a board. After that the man started to become famous. It took seven years to build the Mansion.
He Lu: How many people are there in the Mansion?
Mrs. Li: There are eleven families, all of whom are descendants of Family Li. Five of them live in the main houses, and the others in other houses.
Cheng Ke: Are there some local specialties?
Mrs. Li: Huaqiu Tea is grown by ourselves and tastes rather delicious, as well as pumpkins bacon and beancurd. Visitors from other places always bring some home.
Cheng Ke: Are there a great number of visitors coming here?
Mrs. Li: There are more visitors in the National Holiday, May Holiday and in July and August. Some visitors from urban areas usually spend two or three days here to enjoy the rural life.
He Lu: Does the government appropriate money to the Mansion?
Mrs. Li: Of course. It has once given more than one million yuan to maintain the Mansion and to attract more visitors. There was once a businessman who wanted to buy the Mansion, but we thought it is the home of us, so we did not agree with him.
Ji Hengxu: The board conferred by the emperor has once been stolen, hasn’t it?
Mrs. Li: Yes. There was once a thief stealing it and selling it for more than ten thousand yuan. He confessed the guilt when he was arrested for stealing cars. Finally, the board came back and we are now keeping our eyes on it.
He Xu: Is there any relationship between the Mansion of Family Li and the development of tourism in Pingle?
Mrs. Li: Yes. Since the development of Pingle Ancient Town, our Mansion has also gotten more famous. Visitors to Pingle usually come here too in order to enjoy the beautiful natural scenery.