Former Residence of Chen Chuxiang

Former Residence of Chen Chuxiang

The Former Residence of Chen Chuxiang is a cultural tourism attraction.

Yongquanfang (Lane 395) on Yuyuan Road was named after an ancient spring in the former Jing'an Temple. It covers a total area of 5,300 square meters, comprising 16 residential buildings with a total construction area of 6,233 square meters. Among them, 15 are three-story Spanish-style modern lane houses, and one is a standalone Spanish-style garden villa. All the buildings were designed in 1934 by renowned Chinese architects Yang Runyu, Yang Yuanlin, and Zhou Jizhi, constructed by Jiujì Construction Company, and completed in 1936, representing typical modern lane houses.

Yongquanfang was invested in by Shanghai Renhe Real Estate Company, with the owner being Chen Chuxiang, General Manager of Huacheng Tobacco Company. The residence at No. 24, the end of the lane, is Chen Chuxiang’s private home — a four-story standalone Spanish-style garden villa covering a land area of 387 square meters and a construction area of 1,115 square meters, with a garden of nearly 1,000 square meters on the southeast side. The entire building is nestled among lush trees, and due to the varied heights of the roof, each of the four façades is uniquely designed. The house has nearly 40 rooms of varying sizes. The ground floor includes a living room, reception hall, lounge, dining room, kitchen, and garage; the upper floors mainly consist of bedrooms, guest rooms, study rooms, and activity rooms, with a chanting hall on the fourth floor. The interior decoration features traditional Chinese styles, including painted ceilings, murals on walls, and Chinese furniture. The ground floor lobby, hallway, and stairwell floors are paved with marble, while the main rooms have teak cane-patterned flooring. The stair railings are cast in bronze with floral patterns, and the stairwell also features ornate niches.

Chen Chuxiang’s residence demonstrates rich cultural connotations in both its interior and exterior decorations, garden design, and overall three-dimensional architectural form, showcasing a novel and elegant style of its time.

From overall structure to fine details, from exterior to interior, and from architectural layout to garden arrangement, the architect put great thought into every element. The exterior walls are clad with decorative Taishan patterned tiles, lending the building a grand and graceful appearance. Spanish-style cylindrical clay tiles, dentil cornices, fluted double columns, Roman-style columns and capitals, semicircular window pediments, and arched door surrounds all reflect the building's European flair. The garden as a whole is designed based on the landscaping artistry of classical Suzhou gardens, featuring an exquisitely crafted layout: artificial hills, pavilions, small bridges over flowing water, rockeries and ponds, flower stands and bamboo groves, winding paths and terraces — all blending movement and stillness in harmony. The garden blooms with flowers year-round, including cherry blossoms, peonies, and osmanthus. Under the wisteria trellis, there is a tea house, embodying the tranquility and elegance of traditional Chinese gardens. It can be considered a masterpiece of Eastern and Western cultural fusion. This private residence was listed as a protected unit of outstanding modern architecture in Shanghai in 1994.

Chen Chuxiang, a native of Zhenhai, Zhejiang, was born in 1897 during the 23rd year of the Guangxu reign. He attended a private school at age 8, transferred to another school in Zhenhai at 10, and moved to Shanghai with his father in 1912, where he studied at Minli Middle School outside Xiaoxi Gate. He dropped out at the age of 19 in 1916 to start a business. Initially, he worked as a clerk in the sales department of the British-American Tobacco Company in Shanghai for about three years. In 1919, Chen Chuxiang’s father, Chen Wenjian, co-founded Xingye Tobacco Company with Shen Zaoyong, and Chen Chuxiang joined the company. However, Xingye later went out of business due to various reasons.

In 1924, Chen Chuxiang inherited his father’s business and founded Fuhé Tobacco Company, serving as its General Manager... More detailed information about Chen Chuxiang++