Former Residence of Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Mei-ling: Ai Lu

Former Residence of Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Mei-ling: Ai Lu

Ai Lu is located at No. 9 Dongping Road in Shanghai. It was part of Soong Mei-ling’s dowry and now houses the Sashas Western Restaurant and the Secondary Music School of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music.

Many students who have just started studying at the affiliated school of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music on No. 9 Dongping Road may not know who the owner of the small building on campus is. When Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Mei-ling got married in December 1927, they couldn’t find a satisfactory residence at the time. The couple traveled frequently between Nanjing and Shanghai but had no fixed home in Shanghai, often staying temporarily in hotels. The following year after their marriage, Soong Mei-ling’s elder brother, T. V. Soong, finally found a garden villa for sale at 9 Dongping Road (then known as Rue Gaston Kahn in the former French Concession). He purchased it and gave it to his sister Soong Mei-ling. From then on, Chiang and Soong stayed here often during their visits to Shanghai, making it Chiang’s official residence in the city. Chiang Kai-shek was very fond of this French-style garden villa.

The main building of Chiang’s official residence has four bays, is three floors nominally, faces southeast, and features a Mansard roof with diamond-shaped flat tiles. Its façade is covered with fine pebble-dashed stucco. Window frames, porches, and corners of the walls are all adorned with tooth-like stone-like decorations. The roof is fitted with dormer windows, giving the entire building a light, natural, and unique appearance. The front façade of the villa is arranged in a stepped pattern from west to east. The balcony formed by three-centered arches and the ground-floor inner corridor are prominent features of the architecture. The villa consists of a main building and two auxiliary buildings. The main building faces south and is composed of three distinct sections: east, west, and center. The auxiliary buildings are located on either side of the main building and served as residences and workspaces for attendants and guards. The first floor on the east side is a large living room that can accommodate over 40 people. Soong Mei-ling often screened American films here for the attendants and her nephew, Kung Ling-kai, among others. The second floor houses the bedroom and bathroom of the Chiangs. The bedroom floor is inlaid with small teak strips, and the wall decorations are exquisitely crafted, particularly four framed artworks depicting birds and flowers in spring, summer, autumn, and winter, which are strikingly lifelike. There is a secret passage near the bedroom entrance, which provided an emergency exit directly outside the building. Now the bedroom and bathroom have been combined, but the secret passage still exists. Outside the bedroom is a balcony where Chiang and Soong often admired the garden in front of the house.

In front of the residence was once a large garden covering 2,000 square meters. According to Chiang Kai-shek’s secretary Wang Rizhang, the garden featured several towering cedar trees full of vitality. To the south, a small stream meandered across the lawn, about three meters wide, with various sized rocks that could be stepped across. On the east side of the garden were a pond, rockery, and small bridge, surrounded by gravel paths. Currently, buildings have been constructed on the west side of the original garden, while the lawn and pond on the east side retain their original appearance. Especially notable is a tall, lush cedar tree by the lawn. Around the pond are two rockeries, one in front and one behind, one large and one small, arranged in an engaging composition. The smaller rockery is delicate, while the larger one has a more imposing presence, evoking the charm of a classical Chinese garden. On the large rockery, there are stone benches and a stone table, and the two characters “Ai Lu” (Love Cottage), inscribed and carved by Chiang Kai-shek himself, still stand there. Chiang referred to his villa at Guling on Mount Lu’s Guanyin Bridge as “Mei Lu” (Beautiful Cottage), and his villa by West Lake in Hangzhou as “Cheng Lu” (Clear Cottage), but he named this garden villa “Ai Lu,” showing his deeper emotional attachment to this place.

As time passed and the world changed, over half a century has gone by. The residence still retains its original appearance from those days, though the ownership has changed. It is now Building 9 of the Secondary Music School of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and is rented out for use by Changhua Textile Co., Ltd.

Address: No. 9 Dongping Road, Xuhui District, Shanghai

Type: Garden/Villa / Celebrity Residence / Historical Building

Recommended Visiting Time: 1–2 hours

Opening Hours:

Open all day

Ticket Information:

No admission fee.

Soong Mei-ling (March 5, 1897 – October 24, 2003), from Wenchang, Guangdong (now part of Hainan). She was the First Lady of the Republic of China and Chiang Kai-shek’s fourth wife. In addition to her exceptional English skills, Soong Mei-ling could speak six languages, achieved considerable acclaim in traditional Chinese painting, and was also an accomplished calligrapher. It is said that she was also highly skilled at playing the piano, making her proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. She served as Chiang Kai-shek’s diplomatic aide. Soong Mei-ling, along with her sisters Soong Ai-ling and Soong Qing-ling, were known as the "Three Soong Sisters"... More about Soong Mei-ling++

Chiang Kai-shek (October 31, 1887 – April 5, 1975), courtesy name Zhongzheng, style name Jieshi. His childhood name was Ruìyuán, his formal name was Zhōutài, and his school name was Zhìqīng. Of ancestral origin in Yixing, Jiangsu, he was born in Fenghua, Zhejiang. He was a prominent political and military figure in modern China, having served as President of the Whampoa Military Academy, Commander-in-Chief of the National Revolutionary Army, Chairman of the National Government, President of the Executive Yuan, Commander-in-Chief of the Military Affairs Commission of the National Government, Generalissimo of the Republic of China, Leader of the Kuomintang, Commander of the Three People's Principles Youth League, Supreme Commander of the China Theater of the Allied Forces in World War II, and President of the Republic of China, among other positions.

Chiang Zhong... More about Chiang Kai-shek++