Yangtze Hotel

Site of Yangzi Hotel

synonym

Yangzi Hotel generally refers to the former site of Yangzi hotel

The former site of Yangzi hotel is located at No.2, Baoshan Street, Gulou District, Nanjing City, and now no.599, Zhongshan North Road, covering an area of more than 3000 square meters. There are 1 three storey building with 43 rooms, 2 two storey buildings with 32 rooms, and 7 square meters. The whole building is made of Mingcheng wall bricks, facing south from north, with wooden stairs, wooden floors, wooden roof frame and iron roof. The roof is steep, with a construction area of 2429 square meters. It is the only French castle building built with Mingcheng wall bricks in China.

In December 2019, it will be announced as "the fourth batch of Chinese 20th century architectural heritage".

Historical evolution

In 1912, the Yangzi hotel was built by bernaden, an Englishman, with the inscription of "1912-1914" on the wall. It was the earliest hotel opened by Westerners after Nanjing was officially opened as a trading port.

In 1929, when the national government held the Fengan ceremony, the Yangtze Hotel and the international club were known as the designated hotels of the Ministry of foreign affairs for the special envoys of various countries.

After the liberation of Nanjing in 1949, the hotel was closed in 1950. Bernaden and his wife Li Zhang moved to Shanghai. The house was rented by the communication office of Nanjing municipal government.

After bernaden died in 1954, the property was owned by his wife, Li Zhang (who had become British).

In 1965, after the death of Li and Zhang, the Shanghai Higher People's Court published an advertisement in the newspaper, and no one came to inherit it with a legal certificate.

In 1968, it was decided by Shanghai Higher People's court that it had no birth and was accepted by Nanjing Housing Administration Bureau. It was once used as the office of Xiaguan Branch of Nanjing Public Security Bureau.

In 1992, it was listed as a cultural relic protection unit in Nanjing.

In 2002, it was listed as a cultural relic protection unit in Jiangsu Province.

In 2011, the renovation project of the former site of Yangzi hotel was started, which was completed in January 2016 and officially opened in September 2017, restoring the original function of the hotel.

In December 2019, it will be announced as "the fourth batch of Chinese 20th century architectural heritage".

building structure

The Yangtze hotel has a square bottom roof and a sloping roof, highlighting the rainproof cabin with a face type tiger window. Its architectural style is obviously influenced by the French castle style residence in the Renaissance. Its appearance is grand and simple, while its interior is luxurious. At the same time, Yangzi hotel also has a unique architectural style. It abandons the labor-consuming and material consuming roof, adopts the western architectural composition, and embellishes Chinese style components and decorations in some parts. This kind of architectural style is called "Chinese and Western style architecture" or "modern Chinese architecture" in the architectural circles.

The main building materials for the Yangtze hotel were Ming Dynasty wall bricks from Pukou. According to Lu Yucai, an old man who once lived in Baoshan Street of Xiaguan, his family had been boat people for several generations. When building the Yangtze Hotel, his parents provided wall bricks for foreign buildings. The bricks were removed from Pukou station. There was a special person to check and accept them. No unsuitable bricks were allowed. After the completion of the hotel, it is not only the best hotel in Xiaguan area, but also one of the few high-end hotels.

Dust laden past

Rescue Chen Geng and Luo Dengxian

Chen Geng and Chen Caiying (alias of Tan Tongfu) were arrested on March 24, 1933. All five of them got into trouble in Shanghai because of the traitors. On March 30, Song Qingling immediately discussed the rescue measures with the central executive committee of China Civil Rights Protection Alliance (established in Shanghai in December 1932 by Song Qingling and Cai Yuanpei), and decided to entrust lawyer Wu Kaisheng to defend in court. On the same day, the China Civil Rights Protection Alliance led by Soong Ching Ling issued a public declaration, saying: "even if the defendant is a communist, or participates in the anti imperialist or workers' movement, it is not allowed by law. If there is no special action, he should be released immediately and sealed with the freedom of belief, which is the right that our people must fight for." "During this period of national calamity, if we want to express our regret, we must have the freedom to oppose imperialism. We should not put more and more pressure on the workers who are trying to fight against imperialism. Our people should be aware of it and strive for the release of Luo, Yu, Liao and all the political prisoners It is also necessary to strive for the protection of civil rights. "

On March 31, the court of the second special economic zone in Shanghai began to hear the two cases of Chen Geng and Luo Dengxian, and decided to extradite them to the Kuomintang authorities. On April 1, Song Qingling issued a letter to the Chinese people in Shanghai, calling on the Chinese people to protect and rescue the arrested Communists, revolutionaries and all patriots. She said: 5 people such as Chen Geng and Luo Dengxian did not commit crimes. The national government and the concession authorities "only rely on a sentence of inspection," I know them, they are Communists ", and 5 revolutionaries passed the hall and were extradited. On the basis of such a "evidence", five of them were handed over to be tortured. "This is to frame up the people, which fully shows that the five of them are not" reactionaries ", but Chinese Anti imperialist fighters." they are all models that the Chinese people should be proud of. " In spite of Song Qingling's appeal and statement, the KMT authorities took Chen, Luo, Chen and Yu to Nanjing on April 1 (Liao Chengzhi has been rescued from prison).

In order to continue to rescue Chen Geng, Luo Dengxian and other four people, the Chinese Civil Rights Protection Alliance (CRSA) sent a telegram to Wang Jingwei, President of the executive yuan of the national government, and Luo Wengan, Minister of justice and administration, on April 2, 1933. It was solemnly pointed out that "on March 31, the two courts of Shanghai Special Administrative Region decided to transfer the property of Luo, Yu, Chen and Chen. On the night of the first day, they were transferred to Beijing by the Public Security Bureau, and the criminal evidence was not established It is illegal to ban for a long time. Don't forget to strive to be tried by a formal court. Don't use military torture. In order to respect civil rights and ensure judicial independence, we are waiting for a reply. "

On April 3, the Federation of China Civil Rights Protection League and Shanghai branch held a joint meeting to study how to continue to rescue Luo, Chen and other four people. Song Qingling and other 30 people attended the meeting. On April 4, Song Qingling, Yang Xingfo, Wu Kaisheng, Shen Junru and Yi Luosheng broke through the obstruction of the Kuomintang authorities and went to Nanjing by car to rescue Chen, Luo and other political prisoners. They arrived in Nanjing on the 5th and chose the relatively safe Yangtze Hotel operated by the British in order to avoid the tracking and surveillance of Kuomintang agents. Wang Jingwei and Luo Wengan met with Song Qingling at the hotel. In the name of China Civil Rights Protection League, Soong Qingling put forward four demands in writing: (1) release all political prisoners immediately; (2) abolish indiscriminate punishment; (3) give political prisoners the freedom to read newspapers and books, ban shackles and improve prison treatment; (4) severely punish prison officials for extorting prisoners and accepting bribes. Song Qingling also pointed out: when foreign invasion is pressing, the release of political prisoners is related to the vitality of the country. Only by releasing the male and female fighters of China's anti imperialist movement can we increase the revolutionary power of the Chinese nation. If we imprison or kill them, it is tantamount to self injuring. China's current decline in popularity is related to this kind of political oppression. In this regard, Wang Jingwei and Luo Wengan had to agree to submit the two sides of Chen and Luo to the Kuomintang, and Luo Wengan had to agree to submit the two cases to the Kuomintang Central Political Conference for discussion. That night, Song Qingling and her party visited Chen, Luo, Chen and Yu at the Weixu headquarters in Nanjing. At that time, Chen Geng was held in a cell alone. He exposed the torture and bad treatment of the prison to Song Qingling and others. At this time, Soong Ching Ling gave Chen Geng a note secretly handed over by the Communist Party of China. Then, the delegation transferred to Chen Zaoying's cell. The teenage girl said to Song Qingling, "Ying's house catcher beat me, and the authorities beat me again. But I'm not afraid Luo Dengxian and Yu Wenhua are locked up together, and Yu is tortured so that he has no strength to speak. The scarred and bloodstained Luo Dengxian firmly said to the representative group, "I always stand on the side of the proletariat and always strive for the interests of the proletariat. I am willing to contribute my life to this struggle and nothing can shake me. " Soon after Song Qingling returned to Shanghai, she heard that Chiang Kai Shek wanted to kill Chen Geng because he couldn't induce him to surrender. She immediately went to Nanjing to meet Chiang Kai Shek: "Chen Geng is a student of Huangpu Military Academy. He has been fighting with you in the battle of Dongjiang. Whether you lost the battle or Chen Geng saved your life, you can't live to this day. Now you want to kill him, it's ungrateful Where is the shame? " Chiang Kai Shek was awed by Song Qingling's high prestige and finally released Chen Geng, but Luo Dengxian was not spared. On August 29, 1933, he was killed secretly in Yuhuatai, Nanjing.

Rescue Niu LAN and his wife

Niu LAN, formerly known as Paul Lueger, is a Polish intelligence officer of the Third International Far East agency. In March 1930, he went from Moscow to Shanghai via Harbin and Dalian. In June 1931, he and his wife, fan Louise, were arrested in the Shanghai concession. The Comintern, the Soviet government and the relevant departments of the CPC Central Committee mobilized all forces to rescue the victims, but they were extradited to the Kuomintang authorities. He left for Nanjing on August 14 and was in great danger. On July 23, Song Qingling's mother Ni Guizhen died of illness. On the 24th, Soong Ching Ling returned from Germany, giving new hope to the international activities of rescuing Niu LAN and his wife. All sides earnestly ask Mr. Song to help Niu LAN and his wife "get rid of bad treatment and get their release." Therefore, the first thing Song Qingling did after her mother's funeral was to take part in the rescue of Niu LAN

Chinese PinYin : Yang Zi Fan Dian