Former Residence of Cheng Junhai

Former Residence of Cheng Junhai

The former residence of Cheng Junhai is a cultural heritage site protected at the provincial level in Guangdong Province.

The former residence of Cheng Junhai is located on Datang Lane, Nanlang Town, Zhongshan City. Built during the Qing Dynasty, it features a traditional four-room, two-courtyard layout with a brick-and-wood structure, covering an area of approximately 310 square meters. The main hall is flanked by five rooms and a kitchen, and includes a courtyard and a front hall. The doorway of the front hall is adorned with exquisite brick carvings. The main hall houses a gilded shrine. The courtyard and side rooms feature wooden carvings with gold-foil hanging screens. Above the main gate is a blue plaque with golden characters in regular script, inscribed with “Residence of the Master” (师傅遗居), which was calligraphed by Zou Lu, then president of Sun Yat-sen University, in the 23rd year of the Republic of China (1934). The plaque measures 2.8 meters in length and 0.86 meters in width. Portraits of Cheng Junhai and his wife are displayed in the main hall. The building is relatively well-preserved, and the interior still contains Qing Dynasty wooden furniture such as a carved wooden bed, large cabinets, and rosewood tables and chairs.

Cheng Junhai (1860–1932), originally named YinGuang and styled Junhai, was commonly referred to as Mr. Junhai. A native of Xiangshan County (now Zhongshan City), he was the childhood teacher of Sun Yat-sen and instilled revolutionary ideas in him, guiding Sun toward the path of democratic revolution. After the Xinhai Revolution, he repeatedly declined official positions offered by Sun Yat-sen. In 1918, he persuaded Cheng Biguang, the Minister of the Navy under the Beiyang Government, to lead the fleet southward in support of the Constitutional Protection Movement and to back the southern government led by Sun Yat-sen.

In 2000, the Zhongshan Municipal People’s Government designated it as a cultural heritage site. On November 8, 2008, the General Office of the People’s Government of Guangdong Province issued the “Notice on the Announcement of the Fifth Batch of Guangdong Provincial Cultural Heritage Sites,” listing the former residence of Cheng Junhai among them.

Nanlang Town: Nanlang Town is the hometown of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the forerunner of China’s democratic revolution. Located in the eastern part of Zhongshan City, it borders Wuguishan Mountain to the west, faces the Pearl River Estuary to the east, connects to the Zhongshan Torch Development Zone to the north, and links to Zhuhai City to the south, across the sea from Hong Kong. The town covers a land area of 218.85 square kilometers, with a permanent population of 109,000, including 41,100 registered residents. It is home to nearly 50,000 overseas Chinese spread across 37 countries and regions on five continents, making it a renowned hometown of overseas Chinese. The town enjoys convenient transportation, with major routes such as the Beijing-Zhuhai Expressway, Zhongjiang Expressway, Zhonggong Highway, the Guangzhou-Zhuhai Intercity Light Rail, and the Zhongshan Eastern Expressway running through it. ... More details about Nanlang Town++

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Guangdong Provincial Cultural Heritage Sites