Soong Ch’ing-linging’s Former Residences

Located at 46 Houhai Beiyan in Xicheng District, this was originally the garden of last regent Zaifeng, Price Chun’s Palace. Soong Ch’ing-ling (Song Qingling) lived here from 1963 until her death in 1981.

Soong Ch’ing-linging’s Former Residences

The main architecture is a two-storey house built in the 1960s that combines Chinese and Western architectural styles. There are over 10 boxes of things left behind by Sun Yat-sen, which are very valuable. A pistol displayed in the house was the wedding gift to Soong Ch’ing-ling from Sun Yat-sen who once said,“Of the 20 bullets, 19 are for the enemy, one for yourself.”

Soong Ch’ing-ling (1893-1981), a native of Wenchang County in Hainan Province, was one of the major leaders of the People’s Republic of China. She graduated from Wesleyan College in the United States in 1913. In 1915, she married Sun Yat-sen in Japan. She was vice-chairperson of the Cen- tral People’s Government, vice-chairperson of the People’ s Republic of China, and vice-chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. She was given the position of honorary chairperson of the People’s Republic of China in 1981.