Yuyuan’s Di Chun Hall

Yuyuan’s Di Chun Hall

Yuyuan’s Di Chun Hall serves as a base for patriotic education.

Yuyuan’s Di Chun Hall is a revolutionary site of the Small Swords Society Uprising in Shanghai, located in the northeast part of Yuyuan, a famous classical garden in the Jiangnan region.

The Shanghai Small Swords Society was a people's revolutionary organization active in Shanghai, Qingpu, Jiading, and other areas in the mid-19th century. To welcome the arrival of the Taiping Army, the Shanghai Small Swords Society launched an uprising on September 7, 1853, establishing a revolutionary regime called the “Great Ming State.” Liu Lichuan served as the leader, holding the title “Grand Marshal of the Great Ming State for Governance, Religion, and Military Campaigns.” The group set up its field headquarters inside the old Confucian school near the East Gate, while Chen Alin was named “Vice Marshal,” establishing a “public office,” also referred to as a “residence,” at Di Chun Hall. Di Chun Hall was an important location where the Small Swords Society uprising forces discussed military and political affairs, directed combat operations, and issued decrees. The Small Swords Society persisted in their struggle for 18 months. After the uprising failed, the old Confucian school was burned down by Qing troops, and Di Chun Hall was also severely damaged. After liberation, the Party and government carried out restoration work on Di Chun Hall.

Today, Di Chun Hall functions as the Small Swords Society Uprising Memorial Museum, displaying weapons used by the uprising forces, the currency they minted known as “Sun-Moon Coins,” and proclamations they issued. Opposite Di Chun Hall, in the Opera Stage Pavilion, there is a display of verses written by Comrade Guo Moruo in 1961 during his visit to Yuyuan, praising the Small Swords Society: “At the site of the Small Swords, I recall Chen and Liu, a red tide rose from the seaside edge; Sun-Moon coins shine bright as sun and moon, heroic figures led a heroic age. Exquisite jade walls weigh a thousand catties, winding towers host visits by thousands; thus the lake and hills gain more color, Yuyuan’s history shines through the ages.”

Address: North end of Nine-Turn Bridge, Lake Heart Pavilion, Huangpu District

Postal Code: 200010

Phone: 63260830

Fax: 63282465

Website: http://www.yugarden.com.cn

Opening Hours: 8:30–17:15; open all year round

Public Transport: Metro Line 10, Buses 11, 22, 26, 55, 64, 66, 71, 451, 576, 581, 715, 736, 801, 920, 926, 929, 930, 932, 969, Fangchuan Line, etc.