The Shanghai Changning Children's Palace () is located at Number 31, Lane 1136, Yuyuan Rd in the

Changning District Changning (; ) is one of the seven List of administrative divisions of Shanghai, downtown districts of Shanghai, China. It has a land area of and had a population of 620,000 . The district government is located at 1320 Yuyuan Rd. Economy Numero ...

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. It was originally built for Wang Boqun, former Minister of Communications, including transportation, post, bank, and education, for the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

. The large 40-room mansion was built from 1932 to 1934 in the

Victorian Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style. The house is currently used as a community children's center for art, music, and dance classes.

History

The house was built by Wang Boqun for his new bride, Bao Zhining, to celebrate their marriage on June 18, 1931. He was the 46-year-old

Minister of Transportation, the President of

Great China University Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" * Artel Great (bo ...

, and held the position of Guizhou representative to the Nationalist Parliament. Zhining was a 22-year-old honors graduate with a degree in social sciences from

. They decided to build their new home in Shanghai so Boqun could continue to work full-time as president at the much-expanded Great China University after his retirement from his cabinet post in Nanjing. In early 1932, construction on the house began on no. 31, Lane 1136, Yuyuan Road, in the French quarters of Shanghai. The house was designed by a Shanghai architect, Lui Yingshi. The main building consisted of three floors, for a total of 21,500 square feet. From 1941 to 1944, during the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...

, the house was used by the head of Japan's puppet government,

Wang Jingwei Wang Zhaoming (4 May 188310 November 1944), widely known by his pen name Wang Jingwei, was a Chinese politician who was president of the Reorganized National Government of the Republic of China, a puppet state of the Empire of Japan. He was in ...

. After the war, it became a Kuomintang prison and was used as an execution ground for Communist revolutionaries. In 1947, Bao Zhining, widowed in 1944, returned to Shanghai and rented the house to the British Embassy for use as its Shanghai Consulate General and British Information offices. From 1949 to 1960, the house was used for government offices, after which it was turned into the Children's Palace.

Exterior

The 5,000 square-meter (53,820-square-foot) garden was once filled with streams, bridges and pavilions. A 120-year-old

southern magnolia ''Magnolia grandiflora'', commonly known as the southern magnolia or bull bay, is a tree of the family Magnoliaceae native to the Southeastern United States, from Virginia to central Florida, and west to East Texas. Reaching in height, it is a ...

tree still stands on the lawn. The large stone at the entrance to the garden was brought via train from Guizhou province so Wang Boqun could have a piece of home in Shanghai.

File:Shanghai Changing Children's Palace 03.JPG File:Shanghai Changing Children's Palace 17.JPG File:Shanghai Changing Children's Palace 24.JPG File:Shanghai Changing Children's Palace 15.JPG File:Shanghai Changing Children's Palace 25.JPG

Interior

The main building has over 40 rooms, Gothic arches, marble columns, and vast fireplaces. The rooms are currently used for music, dance, and art lessons.

File:Shanghai Changing Children's Palace 05.JPG File:Shanghai Changing Children's Palace 12.JPG File:Shanghai Changing Children's Palace 04.JPG File:Shanghai Changing Children's Palace 07.JPG

References

{{coord, 31.2215, N, 121.4224, E, source:wikidata, display=title Buildings and structures in Shanghai History of Shanghai 1934 establishments in Shanghai

History

Exterior

Interior

See also

References