Former Residence of the Delegates to the First National Congress of the CPC

Former Residence of the Delegates to the First National Congress of the CPC

The Former Residence of the Delegates to the First National Congress of the CPC is a protected cultural heritage site of Shanghai.

The Former Residence of the Delegates to the First National Congress of the CPC at 127 Taicang Road

(originally 389 Baer Road), is an old-style Shikumen residential building with three floors and three sections, built with brick and wood and facing south. It was originally the site of Bowen Girls’ School. In July 1921, during the 10th year of the Republic of China (1921), when the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China was held in Shanghai, nine delegates—Mao Zedong, He Shuheng, Dong Biwu, Chen Tanqiu, Wang Jinmei, Deng Enming, Bao Huiseng, Liu Renjing, and Zhou Fohai—stayed at Bowen Girls’ School under the guise of the “Peking University Summer Study Tour Group.” They discussed and exchanged work ideas, drafted documents, and completed preparations for the First Congress. Bowen Girls’ School was founded in the 6th year of the Republic of China (1917), with Huang Shaolan as the principal and Huang Zonghan (wife of Huang Xing) as the chairperson. Initially, the school was located in a lane on Bale Road (now north of Taicang Road). In the 9th year of the Republic of China, it moved to 389 Baer Road. At that time, the school had about 100 students and offered full-day classes. The school was closed around the 21st year of the Republic of China. Later, the site served as general residential housing, with shops operating on the ground floor.

In 1951, the site of Bowen Girls’ School was investigated, restored, and arranged by personnel dispatched by the Propaganda Department of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the CPC, and it opened internally in September 1952 as the Third Exhibition Hall of the Shanghai Revolutionary History Memorial Hall. Based on the recollections of Li Da and Yang Shuhui (wife of Zhou Fohai), the small room at the front of the east wing along the street on the upper floor was where Mao Zedong stayed, and the east wing housed delegates from various regions, furnished with beds, stools, desks, and so on. In February 1953, the Ministry of Culture instructed that the restoration of revolutionary buildings should aim to restore their original appearance. The Shanghai Revolutionary History Memorial Hall investigated the interior arrangement of the Bowen Girls’ School site. In 1954, Bao Huiseng was invited to inspect the site. In February 1956, Dong Biwu visited the site and shared his recollections. In February 1955, the central government instructed that Bowen Girls’ School cease public access. In 1967 and 1987, two renovation projects were carried out, and the site has since been under the protection and management of the Museum of the Site of the First National Congress of the CPC. On May 26, 1959, it was designated as a protected cultural heritage site of Shanghai.