The Inner City of Beijing was once dotted with large enclosed estates belonging to members of the imperial family, important retainers, and high officials. A few of these “Princely Mansions”, aka 王府 wangfu, still exist in one form or another, although most were destroyed or converted to other uses in the 20th century.
One of the few open to visitors is the lavishly restored former home and garden of Yixin (1833-1898), known as Prince Gong or “Prince Kung,” depending on when your Chinese history textbook was published. Yixin was the son of the Daoguang Emperor (1782-1850), but lost out on the Forbidden City sweepstakes to his brother, Yizhu (1831-1861). Yizhu was enthroned as the Xianfeng Emperor and got to live in the Forbidden City. Yixin was given an imperial peerage, an annual stipend of silver and grain, and a hand-me-down palace near the shores of Qianhai in central Beijing.