Former Residence of Chiang Ching-kuo (Hangzhou)

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Former Residence of Chiang Ching-kuo
蒋经国旧居
The exterior of the villa in February 2017
Map
General information
StatusProtected as a provincial historic site
Address7 Shihan Road, Xihu District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
Town or cityHangzhou
CountryChina
Coordinates30°15′42.5″N 120°08′51.5″E / 30.261806°N 120.147639°E / 30.261806; 120.147639
Current tenantsMcDonald's, Starbucks
Construction started1929
Completed1931
OwnerZhejiang Provincial Government Offices Administration
Technical details
Floor count3
Known forResidence of Chiang Ching-kuo and his family from 1947 to 1948
Other information
Number of rooms14 (main building) + 7 (side building)
Number of restaurants2

The Former Residence of Chiang Ching-kuo is a wood and brick western-style villa on the north shore of the West Lake in Hangzhou, China. After the World War 2, the villa was once made the home of Chiang Ching-kuo, who later became the president of Republic of China in Taiwan, and his wife Chiang Fang-liang before they fled to Taiwan in 1949. The villa, echoing the Chenglu villa of his father Chiang Kai-shek and stepmother Soong Mei-ling on the south shore of the Inner West Lake, has also served as home to several important figures in the Chinese history, including Li Shiqun, Huang Yuan, Chen Jiangong, Feng Baiju. Currently, the residence is protected as a provincial historic site, though a McDonald's and a Starbucks operate within the villa since 2015 which has led to controversy.[1][2]

History[edit]

The villa was first constructed by a Shanghai tobacconist named Wang Xiangehng, who bought the land in the late 1920s. At a price of 8,000 to 10,000 Chinese silver yuan, the land was reported to be the most expensive in the local history of Hangzhou at the time of Wang's purchase.[3][4][5] When the villa was built in 1931, it was numbered 1 and 2 Inner West Lake. Later it became the home to Li Shiqun, the head of the secret police of the Japanese puppet government in China, as the building was close to the Japanese consulate in Hangzhou located in 1 Shihan Road.[3][4] After the World War 2, the villa was confiscated according to the law penalising Hanjian or traitors to the Chinese people.[5]

In 1947, Chiang Ching-kuo was appointed to rid Shanghai of corruption and began to live in the 2 Yicun villa in Shanghai. Meanwhile, his family, including his wife Chiang Fang-liang, his son Chiang Hsiao-wen and his daughter Chiang Hsiao-chang moved into the residence provided by then Hangzhou mayor Zhou Xiangxian.[3][6] During the time, Hsiao-wen studied at Huilan Middle School, and Hsiao-chang studied at Hongdao Girl's High School.[5] After Chiang Ching-kuo quitted his job in Shanghai in November 1948, he first moved to the residence and then moved to Xikou two days later.[4][3]

After 1949, the residence was numbered 24 and 25 Beishan Road, and then re-numbered as 7 Shihan Road that we see today. It is owned by the Zhejiang Provincial Government Offices Administration.[4][7] The villa was made home to writer Huang Yuan, mathematician Chen Jiangong, Communist fighters Feng Baiju.[8] In 1955, it was the place where the Publicity Department of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party adapted the Kunqu Fifteen Guan.[5] From 1988 to 2004, the communist secret agent Wang Lifu lived in the villa.[5][8] In 2003, the villa became protected as a city historic site of Hangzhou.[9][10]

Since 2015, the main building of the villa transformed into a McDonald's restaurant, while a Starbucks began to operate in the side building, which led to controversy.[8][1][11] Demos Chiang, the grandson of Chiang Ching-kuo said that he couldn't accept that a McDonald's operates in the building and requested his agreement to display his grandfather's photos, thus withdrawing from the commercialisation project.[12][2] In 2017, the villa became protected as a provincial historic site of Zhejiang.[13]

Architecture[edit]

The east gate before commercialisation
The east gate to the residence

The villa is a two storey building made of wood and brick, oriented towards the Inner West Lake at the foot of Baoshi Hill,[4][1] covering a land of 1333.3 square metres.[6] The main building is western-styled and has 14 rooms, with a total room size 344 square metres. The side building is Chinese styled and has 7 rooms, with a total room size 204 square metres, which is connected to the main building with a corridor, yet the corridor is currently blocked.[1][14]

The fence wall is made of red or brown bricks, while the exterior wall of the building is made of a kind of Chinese green bricks produced by the Shanghai Ni Zengmao Brick Kiln. The corridors in the building are paved with teakwood flooring. The interior wall bricks are pointed with imported cements. The windows and doors are made of American red pine wood. The floor plates are made of granolithic concrete aggregates with copper wires.[4]

Commercialisation and controversy[edit]

On 14 January 2015, the Hangzhou Gardens & Cultural Relics Bureau published a notice that the McDonald's would open up a restaurant at 8 Beishan Road. Though the notice was viewed by over 100, but most people criticised the plan.[15][16] On 26 January, the plan published its environmental impact assessment, after which the local newspaper Qianjiang Evening News used a full page to cover the plan, which then led to controversy among the public,[15][17][18] as many locals believed this to be Western cultural desecration, though local officials confirmed that this doesn't violate the law.[19] On 19 April, Zhejiang News revealed that Demos Chiang was involved in the plan,[7][15] which was later denied by hin while responding to the United Daily News.[15][20] Demos Chiang criticised the commercialisation plan, doubting the law regarding local historical reservation.[21]

In November 2015, a Starbucks and a McDonald's were set up and started to operate within the building.[22][15][23][24] McDonald's responded to CNBC that it would respect and preserve the history of the site.[25]

See also[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to the Former residence of Chiang Ching-kuo in Hangzhou.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d "杭州蒋经国旧居"变身"麦当劳引发社会争议". Xinhua. Retrieved 2019-06-04.
  2. ^ a b 郭玫君; 陶福媛. "西湖經國故居…咖啡逐桂花 漢堡擋斷橋". United Daily News Focus. Archived from the original on 2017-12-02. Retrieved 2019-06-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ a b c d 张学勤; 吴新宇 (2005). "究竟是称"蒋经国旧居"还是叫"李士群密室"历史档案拷问炒作". 浙江档案 (2): 28–29. doi:10.3969/j.issn.1006-4176.2005.02.017.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ a b c d e f 王美岭 (2016). "蒋经国旧居:从里西湖1号、2号到石函路7号". 当代企业世界(透明楼市) (3): 7–11.[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ a b c d e 余加新; 仲向平 (2012-01-05). "石函路七号不仅仅只是蒋经国旧居". Hangzhou Daily. Retrieved 2019-06-05 – via 浙江省文物局.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)[dead link]
  6. ^ a b "杭州蒋经国旧居变身"麦当劳". 课堂内外·创新作文（高中版） (1): 1. 2016.
  7. ^ a b 肖菁 (2015-04-19). "杭州蒋经国旧居变身咖啡馆 其孙做内部空间设计". Zhejiang Online. Archived from the original on 2015-07-11.
  8. ^ a b c "蒋经国旧居变身星巴克引热议". Zhejiang Online-Qianjiang Evening News. 2015-10-22. Archived from the original on 2019-06-03. Retrieved 2019-06-03 – via Tencent News.
  9. ^ Boult, Adam (2015-11-18). "Controversy as McDonald's opens new restaurant at Chinese heritage site". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 2016-03-12. Retrieved 2019-06-05.
  10. ^ 肖菁 (2015-04-19). "北山路蒋经国旧居变身咖啡馆 设计者是蒋经国之孙". 浙江新闻客户端. Retrieved 2019-06-05.[permanent dead link]
  11. ^ Ryan, Fergus (2015-11-17). "Ex-Taiwan president's home turned into a McDonald's restaurant". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2019-04-14. Retrieved 2019-06-05.
  12. ^ "麦当劳进驻杭州蒋经国故居引争议 蒋友柏揭内情". China News Agency. 2015-11-17. Archived from the original on 2016-02-13. Retrieved 2019-06-04.
  13. ^ 浙江省人民政府 (2017). "浙江省人民政府关于公布第七批省级文物保护单位的通知". 浙江省人民政府公报 (7). Archived from the original on 2019-06-05. Retrieved 2019-06-05.
  14. ^ "杭州：蒋经国故居主楼变身麦当劳 其主副楼已被隔断". China Central Television. 2015-11-16. Archived from the original on 2018-08-14. Retrieved 2019-06-04.
  15. ^ a b c d e "蒋经国故居开麦当劳事件始末 浙江新闻独家梳理". Zhejiang News. 2015-11-17. Retrieved 2019-06-04.[permanent dead link]
  16. ^ "蒋经国旧居开麦当劳大家说". Zhejiang News. 2015-01-28. Retrieved 2019-06-04.[permanent dead link]
  17. ^ 杨晓政; 陈伸; 金澜 (2015-01-28). "杭州市文保点蒋经国旧居要开麦当劳老建筑联姻洋快餐,爱还是不爱". Qianjiang Evening News. Archived from the original on 2015-07-24. Retrieved 2019-06-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ "Huangzhou residents in two minds over McDonald's outlet at historic Chiang Ching-kuo residence". South China Morning Post. 2015-01-28. Retrieved 2022-05-09.
  19. ^ Shen Lu (17 November 2015). "McDonald's outlet slams into a great wall of history". CNN. Retrieved 2022-05-09.
  20. ^ 葉卉軒. "蔣經國故居開星巴克遭批 蔣友柏喊冤 | 財經". United Daily News. Archived from the original on 2019-06-04. Retrieved 2019-06-04.
  21. ^ "McDonald's China heritage outlet criticised". BBC News. 2015-11-18. Retrieved 2022-05-09.
  22. ^ "McDonald's opens in former Taiwan leader's home in Hangzhou, stirring controversy in China". Agence France-Presse. 2015-11-18. Archived from the original on 2019-02-11. Retrieved 2019-06-05 – via The Straits Times.
  23. ^ "Hangzhou McCafe opened in Chiang Ching-kuo home". Taipei Times. 2015-11-19. Retrieved 2022-05-09.
  24. ^ Johnson, Henry. "You Can Now Order a McFrappe in the Old Living Room of Chiang Kai-Shek". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2022-05-09.
  25. ^ Little, Katie (2015-11-18). "Ex-president's home is now a McDonald's restaurant". CNBC. Retrieved 2022-05-09.
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