Former Residence of Weng Wenhao

Former Residence of Weng Wenhao

The former residence of Weng Wenhao is a cultural relic protection unit of Gulou District.

The former residence of Weng Wenhao is situated at No. 1 Baibupo, Mount Wutai. During his time as Chairman of the Resources Committee, in April 1947 (the 36th year of the Republic of China), he acquired a 1,884.9-square-meter parcel of land under the name Weng Yongni. He constructed a two-story Western-style building, three rows totaling seven single-story rooms, one glass greenhouse, one garage, one guardhouse, as well as an air-raid shelter and a basement. The main house faces south and features an orderly courtyard layout with bamboo fences, flower stands, rockeries, trees, and pathways. In total, there are six buildings comprising 20 rooms, covering an area of 534.2 square meters, with a construction cost of 1.15 billion francs. Additionally, at No. 1-1 Baibupo, a Western-style single-story building with three rooms (46.7 square meters) was also built. The basements and terraces of both properties were constructed with reinforced concrete, the bathrooms were tiled with white ceramic tiles, floors were laid with mosaic, steel doors and windows were installed, and wooden flooring was used throughout.

In 1984, the former residence of Weng Wenhao was designated as a district-level cultural relic protection unit. It is now well-preserved and is currently used by the Mount Wutai Stadium and Gymnasium.

Weng Wenhao (1889–1971), courtesy name Yongni, was a native of Yin County, Zhejiang Province (now part of Ningbo). Born into a family of gentry and merchants, he studied geology in Belgium during the late Qing Dynasty, earning a doctoral degree in science, and returned to China in 1912. He was a renowned scholar during the Republic of China era and one of China’s earliest and most distinguished geologists. He made outstanding contributions to geological education, mineral exploration, and earthquake research in China.

He was China’s first Ph.D. in geology, the author of the country’s first “Lecture Notes on Geology,” the first Chinese scholar to write a mineral resources report, and the creator of China’s first colored national geological map... More details about Weng Wenhao ++