The Zhang Residence (张厅) is older and more intimate than the Shen Mansion, originally constructed during the Ming dynasty and expanded over several generations. What makes it distinctive is the water gate at its heart: a canal branch runs directly through the inner courtyard under a stone arch, so that the boundary between the house and the waterway dissolves. The private boat dock inside the compound is one of the most unusual domestic architectural features in the Jiangnan region.
The residence has six courtyards and about seventy rooms, each with carved wooden details typical of Ming-period merchant architecture. It is quieter than the Shen Mansion and tends to draw fewer crowds, which makes it worth exploring slowly.