Ningbo Lu Residence

Ningbo Lu Residence

The Ningbo Lu Residence is a protected cultural heritage site of Ningbo.

The Lu Residence is located on the eastern shore of Moon Lake in Haishu District, Ningbo. In September 1999, it was designated as part of the second batch of municipal-level cultural heritage sites in Ningbo. The main structure faces south.

This residence once belonged to the father-and-son duo, Lu Hongchang and Lu Chengzhang, influential figures in the late Qing Dynasty who played a significant role in the recovery of Ningbo during the Xinhai Revolution. Lu Hongchang, courtesy name Hongcang, was originally surnamed Rong. He came from a poor family and lost his father at a young age. His mother arranged for him to be adopted by the Lu family in his hometown, and he subsequently adopted their surname. During the First Sino-Japanese War, at the Battle of the Yalu River (Dadonggou), Lu Hongchang employed an ingenious strategy that enabled several transport ships to escape danger, which brought him great renown. Known for his integrity and compassion, he helped the disenfranchised "fallen people" (a historically discriminated class) in the Ningbo and Shaoxing regions to shed their status as outcasts. He also invested his life savings to establish three schools: Yude Elementary Agricultural and Industrial School (the predecessor of Ningbo Xiaoshi Middle School), Jiangdong Yude Primary School, and Shaoxing Tongren Primary School, all of which admitted children from the fallen class. His son, Lu Chengzhang, courtesy name Zhixue, was a member of the Tongmenghui and studied in the United Kingdom. He returned to China in 1911 to participate in the Xinhai Revolution. That November, arriving in Ningbo from Shanghai, he organized over a hundred students from Yude Agricultural and Industrial School, who wore white armbands and carried flags, leading the charge to reclaim Ningbo. A folk ballad from the time said, “Lu Chengzhang single-handedly took Ningbo.”