Changning District Youth Palace (Wang Boqun’s Private Residence)

Changning District Youth Palace (Wang Boqun’s Private Residence)

Changning District Youth Palace (Wang Boqun’s Private Residence) is a protected cultural heritage site of Shanghai.

Wang Boqun’s residence is located at No. 31, Lane 1136, Yuyuan Road. It now serves as the Changning District Youth Palace.

Wang Boqun’s residence was built in the early 1930s. The building is an Italian Gothic-style castle, covering an area of 6,500 square meters, with the main building area being 2,158.8 square meters. It has a four-story reinforced concrete structure and includes 32 various-sized halls and rooms. The interior passages are winding and interconnected vertically, with the central facade protruding in an arc shape and symmetrical wings. Both indoor and outdoor rooms, halls, and exterior walls are decorated with traditional Eastern plum blossom patterns, complemented by painted murals. Even the door handles are entirely handmade from purple copper, with hollow-cast plum blossom window grilles. Outside, there is an arched bridge-style double-flight staircase leading directly to the second-floor foyer, with an archway below that connects to the basement. To the south of the main building lies a garden lawn of 1.3 hectares, featuring lush trees, green lawns, small bridges over flowing water, as well as ponds, rockeries, and flower stands. The garden blooms with flowers year-round. At the time, it was considered a rare luxury mansion in Shanghai.

This building was designed by Liu Shiying of the Xiejiang Foreign Firm and constructed by the Xinfengji Construction Company. It was commissioned by Wang Boqun, the brother-in-law of He Yingqin and former Minister of Communications of the Nationalist Government, who spent 300,000 silver dollars to build it in order to marry Bao Zhining, the campus belle of Great China University.

Wang Boqun, born in 1885 in Jingjiatun, Xingyi, Guizhou, studied the Four Books and Five Classics from childhood. After losing his father at age 18, he was sent to study in Japan at the age of 21 in 1906. While in Japan, he joined the Tongmenghui (Revolutionary Alliance), led by Sun Yat-sen, along with figures such as Zhang Taiyan. He returned to China in 1912, participated in the National Protection Movement against Yuan Shikai’s restoration in 1915, joined the Guangzhou Military Government in 1918, and served as Minister of Communications of the Nationalist Government starting in 1920. He also concurrently held positions as chairman and president of Great China University in Shanghai. Wang Boqun lost his wife in middle age and married Bao Zhining, the campus belle of Great China University, in 1935. Their wedding was held in this very mansion.

Bao Zhining was the niece of the then Shanghai Education Bureau Chief, of Manchu ethnicity, originally from Nantong, and a descendant of late Qing nobility. She had a delicate appearance, was articulate, and was one of the top students among Great China University’s female students. Bao Zhining set three conditions for Wang Boqun: first, depositing 100,000 US dollars in her name at a foreign bank for future living expenses; second, preparing tens of thousands of francs for betrothal gifts, dowry, and wedding expenses; and third, constructing a garden villa as their residence.

The first two requests were manageable, but the third posed a challenge for Wang Boqun. At the time, Wang was serving as Minister of Communications, overseeing the construction of the Ministry of Communications building in Nanjing and the Qunxian Hall (now the Humanities and History Building of East China Normal University) at Great China University. The owner of Xinfengji Construction Company, which was undertaking projects in Nanjing and Shanghai, understood the situation and willingly built the Yuyuan Road garden villa for Wang Boqun. Construction began in 1930 and took four years, completing in 1934. To this day, the year “1930” is still engraved on the eastern wall of the residence.

Later, Wang Boqun was denounced by progressive public opinion for alleged financial misconduct and, amid factional struggles in officialdom, was prosecuted by the prosecuting authorities. He subsequently resigned from public office and retired from politics.

In 1937, when the War of Resistance Against Japan broke out and Japanese imperialism occupied Shanghai, Wang Boqun’s residence was seized by the Wang puppet regime. The Yuyuan Road area became a hotbed of activity for Wang puppet collaborators. Wang Boqun and his wife evacuated with Great China University to Guiyang. The property was managed by Bao Zhining’s uncle, Bao Junjian. Bao Zhining, as the first owner, lived there for only two and a half years.

In 1939, the building was used by Wang Jingwei as the Shanghai liaison office of the puppet Nationalist Government, commonly referred to as the “Wang Mansion.” During this period, Lane 1136, Yuyuan Road, became a hub for a group of Wang puppet spies and collaborators, including Chen Bijun (Wang Jingwei’s wife), Zhou Fohai, Li Shiqun, Chu Minyi, Wu Siping, Chen Chunpu, and Luo Junqiang. Over ten garden villas in the lane, whose original residents were all expelled by the Wang puppet regime, became the nest of the Wang puppet group in Shanghai. More than 100 armed Japanese and puppet troops guarded the area day and night, preventing ordinary citizens from approaching. Wang Jingwei held the Sixth Plenary Session of the First Central Committee of the puppet Kuomintang here and planned the organization of the puppet government. On March 30, 1940, the puppet Nationalist Government in Nanjing officially commenced operations, using this location as Wang Jingwei’s temporary residence during his visits to Shanghai. At the time, the Yuyuan Road area was under tight security, with important intersections fortified and armored vehicles patrolling. As a result, the concrete road surface of today’s Lane 1136 still has densely laid steel reinforcement beneath it.

After Japan’s surrender in 1945, the building briefly served as a guesthouse for the Nationalist Government’s Military Statistics Bureau (Juntong). In 1946, Bao Zhining returned to Shanghai from Chongqing and, leveraging He Yingqin’s influence within the Nationalist Party, reclaimed the building from Juntong. She rented the first and second floors to the Cultural Propaganda Office of the British Consulate in Shanghai, residing only on the third floor herself. On the eve of liberation, Bao Zhining left for the United States and became an overseas Chinese.

In early 1949, Wang Boqun’s residence was taken over by the East China Military and Political Committee of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. The CPC Changning District Committee and District Culture Bureau were once located here. In 1960, the Changning District Committee decided to establish the Changning District Youth Palace here, turning it into a base for nurturing the next generation. It was later also opened as a tourist site accessible to visitors from abroad in Shanghai.

In 1989, the building was listed as an Outstanding Modern Architectural Heritage Site and a Protected Cultural Heritage Unit of Shanghai.

Scenic Spot Location

No. 31, Lane 1136, Yuyuan Road, Changning District