Former Site of the Marshall Mansion

Former Site of the Marshall Mansion

The former site of the Marshall Mansion is a protected cultural heritage site of Jiangsu Province.

The former site of the Marshall Mansion is located at No. 5 Ninghai Road, Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province.

Originally named the Villa of the Jincheng Bank, the building was designed in 1935 by the renowned architect Tong ... It is a two-story antique-style structure with a brick-concrete frame, featuring a hip-and-gable roof covered with glazed tiles. The front of the building has a spacious courtyard, and the paths in the yard are paved with red, black, and white pebbles forming patterns of an eagle, a lion, a white tiger, and a bird, all of which remain well-preserved to this day. After the Japanese army occupied Nanjing in December 1937, the site served as the headquarters of the "International Committee for the Nanjing Safety Zone." The chairman of the committee, John Rabe, along with all its members, engaged in a strenuous struggle against the inhumane Japanese forces to protect the refugees. After the victory of the War of Resistance, the building became the residence of General Marshall.

George Catlett Marshall (1880–1959), visited China for the first time in the 1920s while serving in the U.S. military in Tianjin. From 1939 to 1945, he served as the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army. In 1945, Marshall came to China as a special envoy of the President of the United States to mediate relations between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. The following year, in May, when the Nationalist government returned to Nanjing, the site became Marshall’s residence. The three parties—the Nationalists, Communists, and Americans—held multiple meetings and negotiations here until the mediation efforts failed in November. Marshall returned to the United States the following month to serve as Secretary of State. From 1950 to 1951, he served as the U.S. Secretary of Defense. During his tenure as the special envoy to China, he participated in the Kuomintang-Communist negotiations under the guise of "mediation." As a result, the building at No. 5 Ninghai Road became an important site frequently visited by representatives from both sides during the peace talks.

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Protected Cultural Heritage Sites of Jiangsu Province