Former Residence of Soong Ching-ling

Tourists walk past the former residence of Soong Ching-ling in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 7, 2010. Soong Ching-ling (1893-1981) was the Vice President of the People’s Republic of China. In 1915, she married Sun Yat-sen, a great revolutionary and statesman, who led the 1911 Revolution that overthrew the imperial Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Soong spent most of her time and energy in maternal and pediatric health care, preschool education and other women and children’s issues. The former residence of Soong Ching-ling locates on the north bank of the scenic Houhai, or the Rear Lake, in downtown Beijing. The residence was once a garden of one of the Qing Dynasty’s princes’ mansions. Covering more than 20,000 square meters, it is a quiet and exquisite courtyard. Soong moved to this mansion in April 1963, she worked, studied and lived here until she passed away in 1981. The state council listed Soong’s residence as a key historical and cultural relic under state protection in 1981. So far more than 3.5 million people home and abroad have visited the former residence of Soong Ching-ling.