This is probably one of the cream of the crop as far as Beijing siheyuan go, immaculately well kept and enormous! Very close to the Forbidden City so more than likely used to belong to a family of the court, or a big government official, and now, not sure if this is an actual residence or used for some other purpose. just happened to be passing by and the door was open… it’s actually quite a rare possibility, because fengshui principles would normally warrant that there is no open thoroughfare like this from the main entrance—-lets all the bad energy in! These owners are very non traditional in their traditional home, perhaps…

Thinking about the possibilities to be able to short-term rent a courtyard as nice as this would be quite rare, of course not impossible, but may be more renovation work than possible with timing/budget… But just discovered an interesting NGO here working on Beijing’s cultural preservation, called the Beijing Cultural Heritage Protection Center, and they are working on an interesting project to help raise awareness and preserve traditional courtyard spaces. Will try to get in touch with them, as they will know a lot more about it, historically (maybe in reference to your sexy idea, mon!?) and in terms of local regulations, etc. They most likely have more detailed maps on the hutongs and siheyuan in the city, so may be able to point us in a good direction.