Song Meiling Villa

Former site of the official residence of the chairman of the National Government

synonym

Song Meiling villa generally refers to the former site of the president's residence of the national government

The former site of the chairman's residence of the national government is located on Xiaohongshan, east of sifangcheng in Zhongshan scenic area, Xuanwu District, Nanjing city. It is also known as "Meiling Palace" and "Xiaohongshan residence", and has the reputation of "the first villa in the Far East".

The official residence of the president of the national government was built in 1931. It was originally the residence of the president of the national government. Later, it was changed into the rest room for senior officials in Zhongshan Mausoleum. After the Nationalist Government returned to Nanjing in 1946, Chiang Kai Shek and Song Meiling often stayed here for worship and rest, so they were called "Meiling Palace". Chiang Kai Shek had received foreign distinguished guests here many times. In March 1984, the former site of the president's residence of the national government was opened to the public.

The main building of the official residence of the chairman of the national government is a three story palace building with double eaves. The shape of the building is Ming Dynasty official style, covered with green glazed tiles. The car can reach the gate directly. On the ground floor, there are guard room, cloakroom, confidential room, staff room and kitchen; on the first floor, there are reception room, cloakroom, secretary's office and bedroom, kitchen, pantry, laundry room, toilet, etc.; on the second floor, there are mainly meeting rooms and rest rooms, including hall, living room, dining room, pantry, study, secretary's room, etc.; on the third floor, there are living parts, There are female living room, four big bedrooms, small dining room, kitchen, etc.

In 1991, the former site of the president's residence of the national government was announced by the Ministry of construction as an excellent building in modern China;

In July 2001, the former site of the president's residence of the national government, as a part of the former site of the national government, was announced by the State Council as a national key cultural relics protection unit;

In November 2015, the renovation project of the former site of the president's residence of the national government was awarded "the second (2014) national top ten cultural relics protection project".

Historical evolution

In the autumn of 1930, Chiang Kai Shek formally proposed to the Management Committee of the premier's Mausoleum: "to build a villa in Xiaohongshan.". On October 24, the cemetery management committee held its 24th meeting, which was presided over by Sun Ke and decided to "do as you please".

Since the spring of 1931, Xiaohongshan villa was designed by Zhao Zhiyou, director of Works Bureau of Nanjing municipal government, and sponsored by Chen Pinshan, technical director. At that time, the estimated cost was 261410 yuan. On March 7, Zhao Zhiyou wrote a letter to the cemetery management committee, saying: "the plan of chairman Xiaohongshan official residence is ready, and it is urgent to start construction. All the houses in the base should be demolished first, so as to facilitate the construction. Please send a letter to the security office of your Association. One part of the guards living in Xiaohongshan house will be moved today, so as to demolish the construction." In the winter of the same year, the official residence project was fully started, and was built by xinjinjikang construction plant.

In 1932, Xiaohongshan villa was completed. It was originally planned to be the residence of the president of the national government. Later, it was changed into the rest room for senior officials visiting the mausoleum of Zhongshan. During the Anti Japanese war in Songhu, Song Meiling accompanied Jiang Jieshi to live in Xiaohongshan villa. Later, the cost of Meiling palace far exceeded the budget, reaching 360000 Silver Ocean, which was criticized by many people. As a result, the construction of Meiling palace was suspended for a time, and it was not completed until 1934.

In 1947, Xiaohongshan villa became Chiang Kai Shek's official residence after the Nationalist Government returned to Nanjing. Chiang Kai Shek and Song Meiling often came here for rest, worship and vacation, so it was called "Meiling Palace". In November, Chiang Kai Shek personally inscribed the lintel for the reception hall of the former site of the chairman's residence of the national government.

In 1950, the official residence of the president of the national government was taken over as public property by the Zhongshan Cemetery Administration Bureau, and was converted into Jiangsu Gaogan sanatorium.

In 1951, the official residence of the president of the national government was "lent" to the Nanjing Municipal Health Bureau as a sanatorium for cadres directly under the municipal government. Later, due to the need of foreign exchange work, he lent it to Dongjiao hotel to entertain important foreign guests. During the "Cultural Revolution", in order to avoid the name of "Meiling", the nearby bus station "Meiling Palace" was changed to "Meiling Palace".

In the early 1980s, the name of "Meiling Palace" was restored.

On September 1, 1990, the official residence of the president of the national government was incorporated into Jinling Hotel by Jiangsu Provincial Tourism Administration.

In March 2012, the official residence of the president of the national government was transferred from Jinling Hotel Group to Nanjing Zhongshan Cemetery Administration.

On October 1, 2013, the former site of the president's residence of the national government was reopened after overhaul.

Architectural features

pattern

The official residence of the president of the national government is the largest villa in Nanjing area, covering an area of 80000 square meters and a construction area of 2800 square meters. It is composed of the main house, the gatehouse, the guard house, the garage and the garden. In front of the main house, there is a boundary stone erected on the grass of the National Revolutionary Army School for the survivors.

The main building is a three story double eaves mountain palace, which is shaped like an upright official in the Ming Dynasty. It is covered with green glazed tiles. More than 1000 Phoenix are carved on the glazed tiles on the eaves, which is unique in China. The building is divided into one underground floor and three above ground floors. The main gate is on the north side. There is a garden outside the main building. There is a guard room at the gate. There is a circular driveway outside the gate. Vehicles can drive directly to the front gate of the main building. The ground floor is the reception room and the Secretary's office. In the east of the first basement, there are guard rooms, cloakrooms, confidential rooms, etc. in the East, there are staff rooms and kitchens in the West. The first floor has reception room, cloakroom, secretary's office and bedroom, kitchen, pantry, laundry room, toilet, etc.

The second floor is mainly used for meeting room and rest room, with hall, living room, dining room, catering room, study, secretary room, etc. The hall on the second floor is the place where the state banquet is held. According to the description in the Memoirs of Chiang Kai Shek's personal doctor published by Tuanjie publishing house in 2010, it adopts long table, western etiquette and European tableware. Through the hall, you can reach the "convex" shaped platform, which is paved with flower tiles, also known as "guanfengtai". The platform is surrounded by white marble Phoenix railings. There are 34 Phoenix railings on the platform, and each column is carved with a Phoenix, symbolizing the hostess of the villa. In the window on the second floor, there are two imitation cheongsam of Soong Mei Ling, red and black, one luxurious and one solemn.

The third floor is the residential part, with a female living room, four big bedrooms, a small dining room and a kitchen. The interior is exquisitely furnished, with a purple carpet on the floor and celebrity paintings on the walls. The living room was converted into the Church of Christ. Every Sunday morning, Chiang and his wife go to church with senior government officials. U.S. ambassador to China Stuart Leighton and his wife Marshall also went to the Kaige hall for worship, and the economic aid, agreement and negotiation with the Communist Party were agreed before and after the worship. The bathroom next door is very spacious. Today, all the seemingly ordinary white porcelain basins and bathtubs are imported from Britain, which was hard for ordinary people to reach in those days. Dongshou room is the master bedroom, the interior furnishings are pure Chinese style mahogany carved furniture, wide dressing table, wardrobe, bed, really elegant and extravagant. The bedroom of the couple is located on the third floor. Due to the different living habits of Chiang Kai Shek and Song Meiling, the bedroom is divided into master bedroom and secondary bedroom. The master bedroom is inside and the secondary bedroom is outside. Later, the living room was changed into a prayer room, which was called Kaige hall. According to the book of Jin Yue Zhi, it is said that "if there is music of Short Flute, it is the so-called great victory of Wang Shi, which makes Kaige in the army." On the north side of the second floor, there is a 1-meter-high spring floor, which is a special restaurant for the Jiang family. In the hall, there is a small table for two people sitting face to face.

characteristic

Zhao Zhiyou, the designer of the official residence of the president of the national government, is a distant relative of Chiang Kai Shek from Ningbo, Zhejiang Province. A drawing of the official residence of the president of the national government left by him shows that the original design of the whole building looks like a drop of water. The contemporary national government's official residence is built in the shape of a mountain, and is designed to be a series of pearls with emerald pendants. The two sides lead to the main building of the national government's official residence, the ring road full of French Wutong, and the necklace at the gate. The green glazed tile is like the pendant of the necklace.

The official residence of the chairman of the national government is a "Phoenix Palace". More than 1000 Phoenix sculptures around the glazed tile roof, a row of Phoenix plumes on the column head under the eaves, and the Phoenix on the 34 white marble railings of Nanyang terrace on the second floor all reflect the female characteristics. The 34 white marble railings and 34 lamp posts around the building coincide with Song Meiling's birthday on March 4.

The main building adopts the traditional big roof, decorated with spiral painting, and the blue background Skylark and Qionghua pattern is created by the meticulous painter Chen Zhifo. The main body of the official residence of the president of the national government is reinforced concrete structure, with fire brick exterior wall and large floor steel windows. There is a carved moon door on the west side of the second floor, with a sliding door as a partition. The details all reflect the design concept of combining Chinese and western. The average cost of more than 1000 glazed tiles is very high (each tile is as high as US $5000). All of them are customized from top factories in Russia. Each tile is printed with a flying phoenix. In addition, the white jade pillars and walls inside and outside the villa are imported and printed with Phoenix. Due to the high requirements, these exquisite tiles are also one of the reasons for the slow construction speed.

Cultural relics

The Buick car in front of the former site of the president's residence of the national government was the special car of Chiang Kai Shek and Song Meiling. In the 1930s, President Roosevelt presented a gift to Chiang Kai Shek's wife, Song Meiling. The appearance was black, and the number of the blue license plate was "Jun 00385"

Chinese PinYin : Song Mei Ling Bie Shu