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3.Song Qingling Residence
Over the course of her life, Song Qingling lived in this house for the longest period of time. To Song Qingling, Shanghai was her place of birth, and she is quoted as saying, “I go to work in Beijing, but I come home to Shanghai.” Song returned to Shanghai for the final time furing the Spring Festival from December 1979 to February 1980. After spending her holiday here, Song returned to Beijing. She fell ill and died on May 29, 1981 at the age of 88.
Passing down a long outdoor corridor will take you deep into the heart the Song Qingling residence. Lined with luxuriant old camphor trees, this path is cool and comfortable in the summer time. Emerging from the corridor takes you right into the memorial plaza. A white marble statue of Song Qingling can be seen here, and it coordinates well with the surroundings. The residence’s main building is a three storey milk-white structure shaped like a ship.
Built at the beginning of the twentieth century, the structure was built by a Greek ship captain as his personal dwelling. After the end of World War Two, the property was confiscated by the Kuomintang Central Trust Bureau as property of the enemy regime. In a letter to a friend, Song Qingling once wrote that she wanted to leave the Sun Yat-sen residence and have it turned into national monument, a memorial for the people to visit look upon with reverence. Chiang Kai-shek gave personal orders to have this former Greek property authorized for Song Ringling’s use. In 1948, she moved out of the Sun Yat-sen building and into her new home.
Today the residence shows Song Ringling’s house just as it was when she lived there. The rooms are decorated simply but gracefully with gentle tomes. There is restaurant next door that Song visited frequently. An avid reader, Song had two studies on the first floor where she would often work and write. Sometimes she would do nothing, just sitting quietly and looking out on the property. You do not need to set aside a large amount of time to see the whole residence, but the garden outside is a nice place to linger and enjoy the silence.
There are all kinds of Song Qingling books, postcards, and other materials on sale at the entrance. |
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| Song Qingling Residence. |
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| Inside of the Song Qingling Residence. |
4.Shanghai Library
Just a five minute trip from the Song Qingling residence, follow Huaihai Zhong road toward Fuxing road to reach the huge Shanghai library. Built in 1952, the main building is made up of smaller buildings along its sides. The two buildings to the east and west are in the shape of multi-dimensional platform style blocks, and are meant to symbolize both a foundation of accumulated cultural achievements and humanity’s endless search for knowledge. Library collections include over 13 million books, making it the second largest library in China and one of the ten largest libraries in the world. The Shanghai library is widely known for its family histories, letters, contemporary Chinese and English periodicals, rare edition English works, and rubbings of stone inscriptions. You can also find selections of classical and contemporary music, opera records, and tapes. Over 20 reading rooms are separated by subject area including: ancient books, integrated collections, cultural and literary documents, social sciences, natural sciences, foreign languages, and compact discs.
Reserve the books you want to check out over the internet, and a small trolley will bring your selection out from the stacks. You can follow the following link to the library’s Chinese website: www.libnet.sh.cn. The website introduces the library and its collections. Unfortunately, no English language website is available.
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| Shanghai Library . |
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5.The ShanghaiCommunityChurch
A diverse nightlife has started making incursions into HengShan road’s romantic splendor. More and more people come here to enjoy the early evening mist but overlook the living history on both sides of the road. The ShanghaiCommunityChurch is found on the central section of Hengshan road. A tall crucifix hides the front entrance. During the springtime, a thick blanket of ivy covers the wall like a green cape.
In the 1920’s, a group of American Christians organized a choir group on Route Doumer (today’s Donghu road). Deciding that they needed a more permanent place to conduct their choral activities, they had their first church built. Completed in 1920, the Americans constructed their church, UnityChurch, on Donghu road, and most of the church goers were Americans. In 1923, a more diverse group of internationals decided to build a church on Hengshan road. Construction was finished on March 8, 1925 and the church was called ShanghaiCommunityChurch. The church’s neutral name reflects the church’s tolerant nature and multi-denominational nature.
ShanghaiCommunityChurch’s main entrance faces north. Its top is decorated with intersecting roof trusses, and its red brick structure, recalls old German pastoral architecture. When you walk inside you will be able to fully appreciate a more complete panoramic view of the structure. Both sides of the church have corridors with pointed arches and arched window frames. As the sun sets, golden shadows of light pour in through the windows. A walk out into the polished stone terrace allows you to experience the church’s countryside simplicity.
As ShanghaiCommunityChurch’s fame continues to spread, famous figures have begun showing up at church services. Among the long list of notables are former US president Jimmy Carter and his family. Moreover, religious figures like British Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Robert Runcie, famed warrior of peace, South Africa’s Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu, and famous American evangelical, Dr. Billy Graham have all held religious services here. Today, church activities remain pretty typical, but it is still active with weekly Sunday services. The church’s graceful musical tradition has also been preserved with a sixty member chorus. They perform peaceful worship music every Sunday as well as on Christmas and Easter. If you can make it to a Sunday service, you will have an opportunity to hear their moving and delightful sounds. We suggest taking a discrete recording device so that when you leave, you can take the music with you. Services are conducted by foreign nationals in English.
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| The ShanghaiCommunityChurch. |
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| MAP OF XUJIAHUI CBD IN SHANGHAI |
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