Former Residence of Zhang Zhitan

Former Residence of Zhang Zhitan

The former residence of Zhang Zhitan is a cultural tourism attraction.

The former residence of Zhang Zhitan is located at No. 4 Dali Road, Heping District. It is a three-story European-style brick-and-wood small Western-style building with a flat roof, ten rooms on the upper floor and ten on the lower floor, along with a cellar. The main building has high steps at the entrance, flanked by columns on both sides, with a courtyard in front and a two-story rear building as well as a garage behind it. The downstairs of the main building housed rooms used by Zhang Zhitan, including a large living room, small living room, study, writing office, dining room, etc.; the second floor contained bedrooms for his wife and children; the third floor was used for storage and servants’ quarters; the rear building was home to family members and servants. This residence is currently used as a military guesthouse.

Zhang Zhitan (1884–1936), courtesy name Yuɑnbó, was a native of Fengrun, Zhili (now Hebei Province), and a former successful candidate in the imperial examinations during the late Qing Dynasty. He once served as an acting senior official in the Ministry of War; in 1914, he was appointed as the Dao Governor of Suiyuan; in 1917, he became the Vice Minister of the Ministry of the Interior. In the same year, during the administration of Duan Qirui, he served as the Secretary-General of the State Council, and soon after took the post of Head of the Confidential Affairs Office under Duan Qirui’s Supervisory War Efforts Office; in January 1919, he was appointed Vice Minister of War; from August 1920 to May 1921, he served as Minister of the Interior; from May to December 1921, he was Minister of Communications and President of the Financial Reorganization Committee. His relations with the Zhili Clique warlord Wu Peifu grew increasingly close, and they eventually became... More details about Zhang Zhitan++