Song Ching Ling Memorial Residence in Shanghai

Song Ching Ling Memorial Residence in Shanghai (Chinese: 上海宋庆龄故居), located on 1843 Huaihai Middle Road, is the residence of Soong Ching-ling in Shanghai after 1949.

It covers a land area of 4,333 sq. meters, and comprises a white three-story building and front and back yards.

History

After the victory of Sino-Japanese War in 1945, Song donated her residence, located on 29 Moliai Rd, to the government of the Republic of China as a memorial residence for her deceased husband, Sun Yat-sen. Due to the indecency of her temporary house, ordered by Jiang Jieshi, the Executive House of the government conferred this house on her, and the ownership was also transferred. In Spring of 1949, Song moved from 45 Jingjiang Rd to this residence, where she soon witnessed the capture of Shanghai by the Communist Party of China.

Since the establishment of the People's Republic of China, Song had served in various prominent positions in central government, and thus her residence in Shanghai became an important working space. In the house, Song met not only senior CPC leaders, including Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Liu Shaoqi, Chen Yi and Deng Yingchao, but also foreign statesmen, such as Sukarno, Kim Il Sung, Kliment Voroshilov, U Nu, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Sirimavo Bandaranaike.

From April 1963, due to her work and age issues, Song spent most time living in Beijing, and only returned to Shanghai for occasional stays or for holidays. On December 31 1978, Song went back to Shanghai for spring festival and lived there till the end of February 1979. This was her last stay in Shanghai.

Song died in Beijing on May 29, 1981. Her house in Shanghai was refurbished and opened to a limited circle in October. On October 22 of that year, the memorial residence was accredited with being a Shanghai Municipal Preserved Cultural Relic by the city government. It finally opened to public in May 1988, and became one of patriotic education sites in Shanghai. On June 25 2001, Song's memorial residence became a National Key Preserved Cultural Relic honored by the State Council.

Collection

The residence hosts a collection of over 15,000 of Song' items. Among them, there are pictures, letters, Song's college diploma, collected books, daily utensils, presents from state activities, and also some articles belonging to her relatives. In addition, there are the seals of Sun Yat-sen, preserved by Song after many troubles.