Former Residence of Ruan Lingyu

Former Residence of Ruan Lingyu

The former residence of Ruan Lingyu is a cultural tourism attraction.

Situated in Lane 1124, Xinzha Road, Jing'an District, also known as Qinyuan Village, it is said to have been the property of the prestigious Sheng family, a renowned family in old Shanghai. The rows of three-story Western-style houses have stood for over seventy years and still remain pristine and elegantly serene to this day. In the 1930s, Ruan Lingyu, a film star just 25 years old, unable to withstand the "scourge of public opinion," took a large amount of — and ended her life here, shocking the entire city of Shanghai. No. 9 was once the residence where Ruan Lingyu lived and spent her days. According to neighbors in Building 9, Tang Jieshan, the then tea tycoon and a huge fan of hers, left actress Zhang Zhiyun and bought this Western-style house for Ruan Lingyu with ten golden bars. This three-story building witnessed both the joyous dreams and the sorrowful consequences of Ruan Lingyu's life.

The former residence of Ruan Lingyu is an old Shikumen-style building steeped in many sorrowful and painful memories, located in the second lane on the left at the entrance of the village. It is a three-story modern-style residential building with walls in a pale yellow hue accented with reddish-brown. The old shoemaker at the entrance of the lane does brisk business. The first floor served as the living room of Ruan Lingyu’s former home, the second floor was her bedroom, and the third floor was where her mother lived. Nowadays, all three floors are inhabited by three separate households. The old house is bathed in dappled light, with its dark red walls and paint-peeling doors and windows. The structure of the building has not changed much, but it is said that due to visitors and film shoots, No. 9 Qinyuan Village has been subject to frequent “disturbances” in recent times.