Former Residence of Wu Gengmin

Former Residence of Wu Gengmin

The former residence of Wu Gengmin is a cultural heritage site protected by Cixi City.

The former residence of Wu Gengmin is located in Ertang Village, Zhouxiang Town, Cixi City. It is a three-bay, six-rafter single-story house facing south, with each bay measuring 3.8 meters in width and 8 meters in depth. The beams and rafters used are relatively thick and sturdy. Except for the eastern side room, which was demolished early on, the rest of the structure remains well-preserved. In December 2003, the Cixi Municipal People's Government designated it as part of the fifth batch of cultural heritage protection units.

Wu Gengmin (1896–1991), originally named Runcang, was from Ertang Village, Zhouxiang Town. In the spring of 1910, he was admitted to Shaoxing Prefectural Middle School, where Cai Yuanpei served as headmaster, Xu Xilin taught classics, and Lu Xun was an instructor. In September 1915, he ranked first in the entrance examination for the National Beijing Agricultural Specialized School (formerly the Imperial University of Peking, and at that time China’s only institution of higher learning dedicated to agriculture), fulfilling his long-held dream of studying agriculture and adopting the name Gengmin (meaning “farmer”).

In 1917, Wu Gengmin went to Japan to study horticulture. After returning to China, he began his career in horticultural education as a farm internship and horticulture instructor at his alma mater. In the spring of 1921, he became an associate professor in the Department of Agriculture at Nanjing Higher Normal School. In September, when the school was renamed National Southeast University, he advocated for and helped establish China’s first horticulture department. In 1927, he was appointed to establish the horticulture department at Zhejiang University’s College of Agriculture and served as its head. Between 1929 and 1937, Wu Gengmin oversaw the creation of horticulture departments at Shandong University, Northwest Agricultural and Forestry College, and other institutions. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, he served as a professor at Zhejiang University’s College of Agriculture and Zhejiang Agricultural University, an advisor to the Ministry of Agriculture, a member of the Academic Committee of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and honorary president of the Chinese Society of Horticulture.

Wu Gengmin was not only rigorous in scholarship and highly skilled in fruit tree cultivation, but also devoted extraordinary energy to the investigation, improvement, and introduction of fruit and vegetable resources in China, as well as the importation of superior foreign varieties. The world’s progenitor of honey peaches — the “White Wax Honey Peach,” Japanese citrus fruits, pears, and apples, flowers from Britain, Germany, France, and Belgium, the “Zhejiang Long Radish,” Sichuan’s preserved mustard tuber, Shandong’s Chinese cabbage, and the yellow-fleshed pear that benefited his hometown — all embody Wu Gengmin’s lifelong dedication. His work played a significant role in advancing China’s agricultural productivity and boosting the rural economy.

Wu Gengmin achieved great scholarly distinction in horticultural theory and authored a large body of influential academic works throughout his life. Notable titles include Vegetable Horticulture, Chinese Vegetable Cultivation, Taxonomy of Temperate Fruit Tree Varieties, Cultivation of Chestnuts, Jujubes, and Persimmons, Fruit Tree Pruning, Theory and Techniques of Citrus Pruning, and Chinese Temperate Fruit Tree Cultivation.

To commemorate this master of agronomy, the Zhouxiang Town People's Government invested 3 million yuan in 2000 to build the Wu Gengmin Memorial Hall on Beihuan Road, covering an area of about 10,000 square meters. This has helped promote Wu Gengmin’s spirit of patriotism and dedication.

Ertang Village: Located in the central part of Zhouxiang Town, Ertang Village is 4 kilometers from the town center street and 10 kilometers from the Hangzhou Bay Cross-sea Bridge. The newly built Zhouxi West Road and Zhongheng Line intersect within the village. Established in June 2000 through the merger of Dongliuchang Village and Zhihui Village, the village covers an area of 1.5 square kilometers, with 2,588 mu of arable land. It borders Xinchao Village, Zhoushao Village, and Wanshou Village. The village has 863 households, a population of 2,064, divided into 7 villager groups, and the village Party branch has 91 members. There are currently over 50 private enterprises in the village, mainly engaged in small household appliances and hardware. … More details about Ertang Village++