Soong's memorial opens to the public
A sculpture of Soong Ching Ling was produced in 2003 to mark the 110th anniversary of her birth.
Sunday is the 126th anniversary of the birth of Soong Ching Ling, late honorary president of the People's Republic of China, and her former residence at 1843 on Huihai Rd M. will reopen to the public after a year of renovation.
The Soong Ching Ling Memorial Residence in Shanghai will replace its tickets with flowers for visitors to pay tribute to Soong, who was also the wife of Chinese revolutionist Sun Yat-sen, founder of the Kuomintang.
Shao Li, vice curator of the memorial, said an “architecture health system” has been installed to monitor leaning and uneven settlement problems of the memorial buildings.
“It’s natural for old buildings to have such problems and we have seen some in the main building and the annex,” she said. “Although the problems are not serious now, we decided to install the monitoring system so as to take actions as soon as possible when necessary.”
The main building, where Soong lived, was built in 1920 and overhauled in 1990 and 2006. This was its third major renovation.
Shao said the air-conditioning system and security network had been upgraded and some hardware and other auxiliary facilities had also been repaired.
During the renovation, replicas were also produced based on some exhibits to better preserve the originals.
A paved footpath for visitors on the far side of the lawn in front of the main building will allow them to take a picture of the whole structure. Previously, visitors had to stop at the aisle and did not have a good angle to take a picture.
“Soong moved in in the spring of 1949 and soon witnessed the liberation of Shanghai and accepted the invitation from the Communist Party of China to attend the first plenary session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, where she was elected as vice chairwoman of the Central People's Government,” Shao said. “It was a turning point in her political career.”
The main building at the Soong Ching Ling Memorial Residence in Shanghai.
The memorial residence was accredited as a city-level preserved cultural relic and became a national key preserved cultural relic honored by the State Council in 2001.
Every year, it receives more than 200,000 visitors from home and abroad.
The main building, a three-story white brick-wood structure, was originally built by a Greek shipping magnate, so it’s shaped like a boat when looked at from the front.
There are also some shipping-related elements, such as a fish-shaped wind vane on top of the building and sailboat patterns on wind-shades.
Visitors have to pass the annex to walk into the main building. When walking on the road, they can see a dove house where Soong raised doves. She loved the creatures symbolizing peace and often gave them to others as gifts.
The birds living there now are said to be descendants of those raised by Soong.
The dove house. Soong loved the creatures symbolizing peace and often gave them to others as gifts.
There are two limousines parked in the garage in the annex, which was lived in by workers serving Soong. One is a Hongqi made in China in 1975 and the other a Jim presented by the government of the Soviet Union in 1952.
The two vehicles have also undergone maintenance in the past year.
Soong's Hongqi limousine made in China in 1975
In the main buildings, all the things, including the kitchen, the furniture and the paintings, tell Soong's life story.
In the corridor, there is an oil painting “The Winter” which was bought by Soong in November 1957 when she joined the Chinese Communist delegation to the Soviet Union.
On the floor and stairs, visitors can see replicas of carpets with plum blossom patterns, which were given by Chairman Mao in the 1950s after he heard that Soong had a fall in the building and suffered a fracture.
In the sitting room, there is a set of sofas which were sat on by visiting leaders of the Party and the government, such as Mao and Zhou, as well as foreign guests. Soong usually sat on a cane chair.
On a wall of the dinning room is a piece of Korean embroidery telling a famous Korean story called “Tsun Hyang,” presented by Kim Il Sung during his visit to Shanghai on December 5, 1958.
Oil painting “The Winter” was bought by Soong Ching Ling in November 1957 when she joined the Chinese Communist delegation to the Soviet Union.
In her bedroom is a set of cane furniture, including a bed, a wardrobe, a chest of drawers and a dressing-table. They were given by Soong’s parents as dowry and Soong used them for more than 60 years.
After the renovation, the memorial has also improved its services.
Visitors will be able to book a guide service for group tours and themed activities on its website.
They can also use Alipay and WeChat to buy tickets.
As the exhibition hall is still undergoing renovation, the memorial has installed a 6-meter-long touch screen in the service center. Visitors can use it to see photos, videos and words about the collection.
There is even a nursing room for nursing mothers and facilities for visitors to re-charge their smartphones.
The memorial is open between 9am and 4:30pm from Tuesday to Sunday with a standard adult ticket price at 20 yuan.
To protect the cultural relic, the daily limit of visitors has been reduced from 2,500 to 2,000 and the main building will host only 60 people at the same time.
The dining room.
The sitting room.
The bedroom.
