The first major marriage alliance was Liu Bingzhang, who was the governor of Sichuan. For example, Li Hongzhang's eldest son Li Jingfang married Liu Bingzhang's eldest daughter and second daughter. The two families married back and forth, and there were 7 marriages between them.
The second big marriage family is the Taihu Zhao family. After Li Hongzhang's first wife Zhou died, he married Taihu Zhao Xiaolian. Her grandfather was the number one scholar Zhao Wenkai. Li Hezhang's son Li Jingxi, who later became the governor of Yunnan and Guizhou, married Zhao's niece. There were six marriages between these two families. Zhao Puchu, former vice-chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and president of the Buddhist Association of China, was also born in the Zhao family and is the great-nephew and grandson of Zhao Xiaolian.
The third major marriage family is the Hefei Zhang family. At first, Li Hongzhang's eldest sister married into the Zhang family, and his brother-in-law was named Zhang Shaotang. Later, he went through four more marriages.
The fourth family is the Sun family of Shouzhou, that is, the family of Sun Jianai, the champion of Xianfeng and the disciple of Emperor Guangxu. Li Hanzhang's second daughter married Sun Jianai's nephew. The two major families have 7 in-laws.
The fifth family is the Zhu family in Jingxian County. Zhu Hongdu was also Li Hongzhang's buddy, and later ran a private cotton mill. The granddaughter of the Zhu family became the daughter-in-law of Li Hongzhang's great-grandson. There were four marriages between the two families.
The sixth family is the Wangjiang He family. He Garden in Yangzhou was the original private garden of the He family. Li Hanzhang and the He family were in-laws, and the two families and the Sun family in Shouzhou were also in-laws.