Sun Yat-sen's former residence in Nanjing – the Sun Ke Mansion

Nanjing Sun Ke Mansion

The Nanjing Sun Ke Mansion is a cultural relic protection unit of Jiangsu Province.

The former residence of Sun Ke is located at No. 11 Wuyi Road, Gulou District, Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province.

The Nanjing Sun Ke Mansion was designed by the Shanghai HuaGai Architectural Firm, with a construction area of 529 square meters and a usable area of 335 square meters. The entire mansion features a Western architectural style, forming a sharp contrast with the traditional Chinese architectural style of the Ministry of Railways. The Sun Ke Mansion is now located at No. 8 of the Dr. Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum. It covers an area of over 40 mu, with a construction area of approximately 1,000 square meters. Built in the late 1940s, it was designed by Yang Tingbao of the Kiuchi Engineering Corporation.

The residential building of the Sun Ke Mansion has two floors, with glass bricks used for the walls, allowing bright yet soft lighting in the living room; the bedroom roof houses a water storage tank to provide insulation. The front yard includes a guardhouse, garage, parking lot, and more. To the southeast lies a large expanse of lawn and clusters of trees, creating a serene and tranquil environment. It now serves as a guesthouse.

Compared to the Western-style official residences of the Republican era, the design of the Sun Ke Mansion is also quite distinctive. Viewed from the front of the building, the left and right sides are asymmetrical — the left side of the main entrance has two floors while the right side has three, with a balcony above the main entrance. The main entrance is arched, featuring triple doors: the outermost is an ornate iron gate, followed by two wooden doors. The roof tiles are neither the typical large flat tiles nor the traditional small blue tiles, but rather a combination of Chinese and Western styles — red barrel tiles and flat tiles, some upturned and others interlocking. Behind the mansion, there is also an open-air fountain. These features are rarely seen in Republican-era mansions. The exterior walls are pale yellow, harmonizing extremely well with the red roof, giving off a bright and warm impression. The mansion is fully equipped with a reception hall, bedrooms, dining room, bathrooms, and toilets. The interior decoration is just right, with stair steps made of white marble and wooden floors adding a cozy feel.

Sun Ke (October 20, 1891 – September 13, 1973), courtesy name Zhesheng, was a native of Zhongshan, Guangdong, and the only son of Sun Yat-sen. He joined the Tongmenghui in 1910, served as the first mayor of Guangzhou in 1917, was reappointed mayor of Guangzhou twice in 1923 and 1926, became the head of the Executive Yuan of the Nanjing government in 1931, and served as Minister of… in 1932, advocating for prompt cooperation between the Nationalists and Communists to resist Japan. In 1947, he became the vice-chairman of the Nanjing government, resigned in 1949, and lived in exile in Hong Kong, France, and the United States. In 1965, he became a senior advisor to the Taiwan “Presidential Office,” and passed away on September 1, 1973... More detailed information about Sun Ke++

Further reading:

· Fifth Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Jiangsu Province