Former Site of the Lingyuan New Village Post Office

Former Site of the Lingyuan New Village Post Office

The Former Site of the Lingyuan New Village Post Office is a cultural relic protection unit of Jiangsu Province.

The Lingyuan New Village Post Office, also called the "Lingyuan Post Office," is nicknamed the "Octagonal Pavilion Post Office" due to its square, double-eaved pyramidal roof with eight eaves corners, and is also known as the "Meiling Palace Post Office" because Soong Mei-ling was said to often send letters here due to its proximity to the Meiling Palace. This post office was a public postal service facility originally planned near the Shaojia Village Cooperative in the former "Premier's Mausoleum" area and was newly built in the 23rd year of the Republic of China (1934). The post office originally had a plaque inscribed with "Lingyuan Post Office," which was written by Lin Sen, the Chairman of the Nationalist Government.

The main structure of the post office is two stories high, featuring an imitation ancient-style green-glazed double-eaved pyramidal roof and blue-glazed bracket sets. The front of the first floor has a central entrance, with the painted decorations on the brackets and beams now faded and unclear. On either side of the main entrance are large arched windows, and there are four rows of large arched windows on each side of the main building. This is due to the building’s square, double-eaved pyramidal roof.

The Lingyuan Post Office was built in 1934 as a fully equipped post office dedicated to the Lingyuan New Village. The main entrance of the post office originally hung a large plaque inscribed with "Lingyuan Post Office," written by Lin Sen, Chairman of the Nationalist Government. The main structure of the post office is two stories high, featuring an imitation ancient-style green-glazed double-eaved pyramidal roof and blue-glazed bracket sets. The front of the first floor has a central entrance, with the painted decorations on the brackets and beams now faded and unclear. On either side of the main entrance are large arched windows, and there are four rows of large arched windows on each side of the main building. With its square, double-eaved pyramidal roof, it naturally has eight eaves corners, earning the Lingyuan Post Office the nickname "Octagonal Pavilion."

From a distance, the Lingyuan Post Office resembles an exquisitely designed Buddhist temple. In front of the building is an open platform with circular steps on both sides for people to ascend, allowing entry to the post office via stairs on either side. During the Republican era, only high-ranking officials and dignitaries of the Nationalist government frequented this place. It's said that Soong Mei-ling often came here to mail letters, which is why it is now referred to as the "Meiling Palace Post Office." The building is surrounded by a railing, interestingly in non-uniform styles. On the left and right sides of the building are two antique-style mountain gate-like archways, covered with green-glazed roofs, with east and west wing rooms inside. The railing on the right archway features traditional Chinese-style balusters connected with Western-style ironwork, while the left archway’s railing is entirely traditional Chinese antique-style columns, serving as the main building’s railing, with plum blossom and scrolling vine patterns on the rail panels. On the west side of the post office, there is also a gate that blends Chinese and Western styles, with two pillars featuring traditional official-style memorial archway "upward-reaching column heads." The "column-connection heads" are decorated with simple cloud motifs, the "brackets" are adorned with scrolling vine patterns, and the "beam and cloud-column heads" are fitted with yellow and green hollow glazed floral tiles. The pillar surfaces also have traditional geometric concave-line decorations. This gate uniquely combines Chinese and Western elements, and the railings on both sides are again traditional Chinese-style balusters connected with hollow floral tiles. Such a small building employs three different styles of railings, reflecting the designer’s meticulous effort—clearly aiming to use differently styled railings and gates to distinguish various areas.

Unfortunately, the Lingyuan New Village did not last long. In the winter of 1937, during the Japanese attack on Nanjing, the city became a fierce battleground, and the Lingyuan New Village was left deserted. When the Japanese attacked Purple Mountain, the Lingyuan New Village turned into a sea of flames. Precious cultural relics and books left behind in the villas, along with the elegant villas themselves, were reduced to ashes by artillery fire, and the Lingyuan Post Office was also burned down. After the victory of the War of Resistance and the return of the Nationalist Government to Nanjing, as an essential public building in the mausoleum area, the Lingyuan Post Office was rebuilt in 1947. Of course, after eight years of suffering during the war, the original villa owners had either died or moved away, and the Lingyuan New Village had become a place of sorrow—there was no reason to rebuild those luxurious villas, leaving only some remaining foundations faintly visible. Clearly, the Lingyuan Post Office was the iconic building of the Lingyuan New Village, which is why it has been preserved to this day.

Until the Cultural Revolution, the Lingyuan Post Office remained unoccupied, overgrown with weeds, and empty inside. Shacks continuously sprouted like wild grass next to the ruins of the villas, completely erasing the original function of the once exquisite building, which was utterly forgotten.

On June 5, 2006, the Former Site of the Lingyuan New Village Post Office was designated as part of the sixth batch of Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units.

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of Jiangsu Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units