Tàigǔ

Taigu stands on the fertile Shanxi plain and became a prosperous home of merchants whose businesses stretched far beyond the county. The Cao family settled at Beiguang in the early Ming, at first earning a living from bean curd and earthenware. In the late Ming and early Qing, Cao Sanxi built up trade in the northeast and established firms in his home county and other northern markets. In later generations the family's commerce and substantial courtyard houses made its wealth visible in Taigu itself.