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Lei Fada's eldest son, Lei Jinyu, succeeded his father to become head of Yangshifang and showed his excellence in the construction of "Changchunyuan", the first royal garden of the Qing Dynasty.

Among Lei Jinyu's five sons, only the youngest one, named Lei Shengcheng, carried on with his father's career. His three sons all took part in the construction of royal projects consecutively. The eldest son, Lei Jiawei, was sent to examine the Xanadus, bridges and riverbank projects which were out of Beijing, and to work on the construction of the scenic spots along the route along which emperorQianlongwould pass when he went on an inspection to the south of theYangtze River. The second son, named Lei Jiaxi, undertook the Shou-shan Mountain project, the Yuquan Mountain project, the Fragrant Mountain Park,ChengdeImperial Summer Villa and the Chang Mausoleum in 1792. The third son, Lei Jiarui, went along with his brothers to deal with imperial projects inside the palace.

The family had risen to great fame and influence by that time, and the three collected details of the southern architecture style and incorporated them into their later works, which included the renovation of the Summer Palace and the Yuangmingyuan Garden.

Lei Jingxiu, the third son of Lei Jiaxi, learnt architecture diligently from his father in Yangshifang located in the Old Summer Palace when he was sixteen. He collected the architectural blueprints and wax models used by his ancestors, and stored them in a three-room house downtown, most of which have been kept to form what is known today as the Yangshi Lei archives.

Lei Siqi, the third son of Lei Jingxiu, participated in the construction of the Ding Mausoleum in 1865. Along with his brother, Lei Tingchang, who designed the mausoleum of Empress Dowager Cian and Empress Dowager Cixi, Lei Siqi submitted the deisgn drafts for the renovation of the Old Summer Palace and was called upon five times by the emperor in 1874. After that he participated in the expansion project of three seas (North Sea, Middle Sea and South Sea) as well as the rebuilding of Old Summer Palace. After that "Yangshi Lei" became even more famous, enjoying a good reputation in and out of the royal court.