Former Residence of Zhao Boxian

Former Residence of Zhao Boxian

The former residence of Zhao Boxian is a national AA-level tourist attraction and a cultural relics protection unit of Jiangsu Province.

The former residence of Zhao Boxian is located in Dagang Town, Dantu County, Zhenjiang City, Jiangsu Province, and is a late Qing Dynasty–era building. The residence currently consists of three rows of tiled-roof houses. The Zhenjiang municipal government has recently renovated the residence.

It features a main gate, interior passageways, a courtyard, and wing rooms on both sides of the front section. The middle section is an open hall with three large bays, while the rear section originally had a three-room pavilion, which has now been converted into a flat-roofed house, with boxwood trees planted in the courtyard. The third section served as living quarters, with a central hall and the eastern room where General Zhao Boxian lived during his youth. The back section includes a kitchen, which is a three-bay structure with five-beam construction. The overall structure of the residence is largely intact but awaits further restoration.

Zhao Sheng (1881–1911), courtesy name Boxian and alias Baixian, was one of the key leaders of the Tongmenghui (Chinese Revolutionary Alliance). He once served as the organization’s internal director-general and commander-in-chief of the Guangzhou Uprising. In 1911, members of the Tongmenghui from southern provinces gathered in Guangzhou to launch the Guangzhou Uprising of the Xinhai Revolution. Zhao was appointed commander-in-chief of the uprising forces, planning ten coordinated attacks and personally leading a hundred party members from Jiangsu and Anhui to assault the Qing army’s Guangzhou Naval Headquarters. However, because he was well known to local officials in Guangzhou, it was deemed inadvisable for him to enter the city first. On the 27th, Deputy Commander Huang Xing launched the uprising ahead of schedule. After a day-long fierce battle against Qing forces, the uprising ultimately failed due to being outnumbered. By the morning of the 28th, when Zhao arrived in Guangzhou, it was too late to join the fighting and he was forced to retreat. Following the failure of both uprisings in Guangzhou, Zhao fell ill from anxiety and grief, and passed away in Hong Kong on May 18, 1911. In the first year of the Republic of China (1912), he was posthumously awarded the rank of General of the Army by the Nanjing Provisional Government.

Bao Ta Shan Park has become a dazzling jewel in Zhenjiang’s urban landscape. The park is lush with greenery, alive with birdsong and floral scents, offering scenic beauty in all seasons and blossoms throughout the year. The harmonious blend of botanical and cultural landscapes, along with its refined elegance and refreshing ambiance, welcomes thousands of international visitors each year, fully embodying the theme of a friendship park.

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of Cultural Relics Protection Units of Jiangsu Province