The Former Residence of Dr Sun Yat-sen
The Former Residence of Sun Yat-sen in Shanghai is located at 7 Xiangshan Road. From 1918 to 1924, Sun Yat-sen and his wife, Soong Ching-ling, lived here. After Sun's death on March 25, 1925, in Beijing, he left a will bequeathing his books, clothing, and home to Soong. She continued to live in the residence until 1937, when she moved to Hong Kong and Chongqing due to the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War. After the war, in late 1945, Soong returned to Shanghai and donated the house to the Nationalist government as a permanent memorial to Sun Yat-sen.
The house is designed with a grey pebble exterior and a magenta tile roof. It consists of two buildings—main and auxiliary—constructed with brick, wood, and concrete. The peaceful surroundings include a square lawn, with magnolias, holly, camphor, pine, and other evergreen trees encircling the property. The ground floor features a living room and dining room, while the upper floor contains a study, bedroom, a medium-sized reception room, and a large indoor balcony. The interior is decorated based on Soong Ching-ling's recollections, with most of the furnishings being original.
The living room on the east side has a set of sofas and walls adorned with photos, including a commemorative photo of Sun Yat-sen as the provisional president of the Republic of China and other artworks and carvings gifted by friends. The dining room on the west side features a redwood round table and stools, along with a portrait of Sun and photos of him with Soong Ching-ling, including one taken in front of China's first domestically assembled airplane in Guangzhou. The room also displays a ceremonial sword from the 1917 Constitutional Protection Movement and silver shields and cups presented during Sun's journey north in 1924.
On the upper floor, the study is located on the west side, and the bedroom on the east. The study features a simple writing desk, with various maps on the walls, including one hand-drawn by Sun Yat-sen of Shanghai's waterways and military deployments. The room houses over 5,000 books on politics, military affairs, economics, history, geography, and law. The bedroom contains a bed and wardrobe, along with a photo of Sun and Soong taken in Shanghai in 1920. The long indoor balcony displays gifts from Japanese friends, including a shell-go game set and Indonesian wood carvings. There is also a photo of Sun and Soong taken in Tokyo in 1915 after their marriage.
In a small guest room facing north, personal items from Sun's Northern Expedition are displayed, including a khaki Zhongshan suit, linen clothes, a wallet, glasses, military dining utensils, and some of his medical equipment.
