Chenglu Villa

Chenglu Villa

Chenglu Villa is a Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Chenglu Villa (Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit)

Era: Modern

Announcement Date: March 16, 2005

Chenglu Villa is situated by the lake and was originally built during the Republican era. It was the villa of Sheng Enyi, General Manager of the Han-Yeping Iron and Steel Company — China’s first integrated steel enterprise — and later served as Chiang Kai-shek’s official residence in Hangzhou. The villa covers a construction area of approximately 250 square meters, with the main structure being a three-story Western-style building, featuring three bays on each side. The exterior walls are cream-yellow in color, and the interior entrance hall staircase is double-flight, with both staircases constructed from white marble. The upper floor includes side rooms, a living room, a ballroom, and other spaces, all exquisitely decorated with finely crafted wooden door frames and delicate plaster moldings. A corridor runs north to south on the second floor, leading to a large balcony that faces West Lake. Most of the third floor consists of an open terrace. The villa’s courtyard is spacious, with an elegant garden on the west side where European-style stone pillars still remain, and a large European-style lawn on the southeast side. In December 1927, after their wedding in Shanghai, Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Mei-ling made Chenglu Villa their first stop on their honeymoon trip to West Lake. After the “Xi’an Incident,” Chiang stayed here to recuperate. In March 1937, Chiang Kai-shek held secret meetings here with Zhou Enlai and Pan Hannian, representatives of the Chinese Communist Party.

Source: Zhejiang Cultural Relics Website

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Zhejiang Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units