Architectural, Cultural sights in China
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Hú Guǎng Huì Guǎn guild
The Hú Guǎng Huì Guǎn guild served as the seat of immigrant life 300 years ago in the Qin dynasty. Eager to increase the paltry population in Sìchuān, the government encouraged widespread immigration beginning in AD 316. By the time of the guild, the population was 800,000 and rapidly growing as settlers arrived mostly from the Hú (Húnán and Húběi) and Guǎng (Guǎngdōng and Guǎngxī) provinces, as well as ten others.
People came to the guild for legal processing and to worship and celebrate with other new arrivals. English guides are available, though you could easily spend a day wandering on your own through the beautifully restored guild houses and their c…
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Moller House
One of Shànghǎi’s most whimsical buildings, the Scandinavian-influenced gothic peaks of the Moller House could double as the Munsters’ holiday home. The Swedish owner and horse-racing fan, Eric Moller, owned the Moller Line. Previously home to the Communist Youth League, the building now houses a hotel, the Hengshan Moller Villa. Fancifully perhaps, legend attests that a fortune teller warned Moller that tragedy would befall him on the house’s completion, so the tycoon dragged out its construction (until 1949). Moller clung on for a few years before dying in a plane crash in 1954.
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Zhou Enlai’s Former Residence
In 1946 Zhou Enlai, the urbane and much-loved (although some swear he was even more sly than Mao) first premier of the People’s Republic of China, lived in this former French Concession Spanish villa at 107 (now 73) Sinan Rd. Zhou was then head of the Communist Party’s Shànghǎi office, and spent much of his time giving press conferences and dodging Kuomintang agents who spied on him from across the road. There’s not much to see these days except spartan beds and stern-looking desks, but the charming neighbourhood, with its lovely old houses, is a great place to wander around.
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Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea
This small enclave of offices and residences served as the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea during WWII. In response to brutal colonial rule by the Japanese, the Korean heads of state fled to China in 1909 and formed an alliance. They set up camp in Shànghǎi and eventually moved to Chóngqìng in 1940. The provisional government's plea to President Roosevelt, written in imperfect but plaintive English, hangs in a gallery accompanied by haunting footage of the air raids.
This is within 10 minutes' walking distance of Liberation Monument.
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Yang's Ancestral Hall
Yang's Ancestral Hall at Beishan Village (Běishāncūn; 北山村), Nánpíng (南屏), is a shrine built in 1868 and the largest Lingnan architecture representative of its kind in Zhuhai.
To get there, take bus 34 near the landmark Vanguard Department Store on Yingbin Dadao. Alight at Beǐshān (the 2nd stop after crossing Qianshan Bridge). Cross the road (be careful!) to Sinopec gas station. Take the path beside it to Beishan village. Go straight down and turn left till you see a basketball court.
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Former Residence of Xu Beihong
The Former Residence of Xu Beihong is one of Yángshuò's few cultural landmarks. Innovative Chinese artist Xu Beihong (1895-1953) is best remembered for his galloping horses that injected dynamism into previously static forms of Chinese brushwork.
Admirers of Chinese guildhall architecture can glean something from a visit to the Hongfu Palace Hotel and Le Vôtre Café, both of which occupy sections of the former Jiangxi Guildhall (Jiāngxī Huìguǎn), a notable vestige from the Qing dynasty occupying a site along Xi Jie.
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Lu Xun Former Residence
Lu Xun buffs will adore ferreting around this three-floor domicile on lovely Shanyin Rd, where an English-speaking guide can fill you in on all the bits and bobs. Attracted by the city’s progressiveness and literary scene, Lu Xun moved to Shànghǎi in 1927; this was his final residence, from 1933 to 1936. Don’t overlook wandering along Shanyin Rd and peeking into its lovely alleyways and traditional lòngtáng houses (for example at Nos 41 to 50, Lane 180, Shanyin Rd).
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Sun Yat Sen Memorial Home
Near Lou Lim Ioc Garden, this Moorish-style house was once a residence of Lu Muzhen, the first wife of the founder of the Chinese Republic, Dr Sun Yat-sen (1866–1925). She died in the upstairs back bedroom in 1952. This house replaced the original house, which blew up in 1930. Now it’s a museum dedicated to Dr Sun, though he had never lived here. You’ll find a collection of flags, photos and documents relating to the life and times of the ‘Father of the Nation’.
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Wáng Chéng
The entrance fee to Solitary Beauty Peak includes admission to Wáng Chéng, also known as Jingjiang Prince's City, a 14th-century Ming prince's mansion dating to the reign of Hongwu that was built by the nephew of the emperor, Jing Jiang, and is now home to Guangxi Normal University. During the Qing dynasty, the palace served as the Guangxi Provincial Examination House, and later Sun Zhongshan commandeered the grounds for his northern expedition from here.
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Meixi Royal Archways
Zhuhai has a number of lesser-known sites that nonetheless played vital parts in Guangdong’s history. To the northwest of downtown is Meixi Royal Archways at Qíanshān ( 前山 ), originally a residence of the legendary philanthropist Chen Fang. The archways were bestowed by Emperor Guangxu, but one was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. The mansions beside them display wax works, archway models and photos.
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Lou Kau Mansion
This well-preserved, Cantonese-style mansion was built in 1889. It belonged to tycoon Lou Wa Sio (aka Lou Kau), who made his fortunes in the opium trade and gambling during the 19th century. The mansion has kept its elaborate brick relief and lattice carvings on the windows, and some hybrid East-West architecture. Interestingly, there is no kitchen in the mansion, as the owner’s concubines were supposed to bring him pleasure rather than cook.
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Cuìwēi Yuán
On the other side of the river to People's Square is Cuìwēi Yuán , a collection of several small pavilions set in a charming garden of bonsai trees, Chinese stones and miniature plum blossoms. The garden was originally a Buddhist abbey built during the Ming dynasty (1425-35), however nowadays it's essentially home to a group of shops selling traditional Miao embroidery; they're interesting to browse through but extremely pricey.
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Casa Garden
Quietly sitting east of the Luís de Camões Garden is this beautiful colonial villa, once the headquarters of the British East India Company when it was based in Macau in the early 19th century. Today the villa houses the Oriental Foundation, an organisation that promotes Portuguese culture worldwide, and an exhibition gallery, which houses exhibits of Chinese antiques, porcelain and contemporary art.
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Lujiazui Development Showroom
Undergoing renovation at the time of writing, this exhibition of photos, folk life and recent development in Pǔdōng, on the edge of Lujiazui Park, is mildly diverting but it’s the historic building itself – unique in a forest of skyscrapers – that stands out. Built in 1914 to 1917 as the residence of a rich merchant, Chen Guichun, it has both a main hall and interior courtyard.
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Song Qingling Former Residence
Madam Song is lovingly venerated by the Chinese as the wife of Sun Yat-sen, founder of the Republic of China. Her house is rather dormant and moth-eaten; on display are personal items, pictures, clothing and books. You can find the museum on the northern side of Houhai Lake and within reach of Prince Gong’s residence.
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Spring Rear Cottage
Spring Rear Cottage 'The master's study' is the former home of a retired mandarin, set in the Garden Of The Master Of The Nets. It contains the study with its Ming-style furniture and palace lanterns of the former official, which was duplicated and unveiled at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 1981.
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Mei Lanfang Former Residence
The most iconic Peking opera performer of all, Mei Lanfang (1894–1961) was famous for playing female roles and popularising Peking opera in the West. This museum in his former home shows his costumes and photos of him performing. English captions.
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People's Hall
On your way out of the Three Gorges Museum, take a look across the square at the People's Hall. When built in 1954, it was the tallest building in town and symbolised Chóngqìng's rebirth from backwater war casualty to modern metropolis.
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Wenchang Pavilion
Heading north from People's Square up Wenchang Beilu brings you to the Ming-dynasty Wenchang Pavilion. It and the old city walls around it have been beautifully refurbished and the pavilion now houses a very popular local teahouse.
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Song Qingling’s Former Residence
Putting the dubious pebbledash exterior aside, this home to the wife of Sun Yatsen has historic charm. The English-style garden, with waxy-leaved Magnolia grandiflora and towering camphor trees, steals the show.
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Sun Yatsen’s Former Residence
Sun Yatsen (1866–1925), the father of modern China, dwelled in this two-storey house on Rue Molière from 1918 to 1924. It’s a simple and retiring slice of Sun Yatsen nostalgia and memorabilia.
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