Former Residence of the Soong Family and Soong Ching Ling Memorial Hall

The Former Residence of the Soong Family and Soong Ching Ling Memorial Hall

The Former Residence of the Soong Family and Soong Ching Ling Memorial Hall is a cultural heritage site under Hainan Provincial protection and a patriotic education base.

The Former Residence of the Soong Family and Soong Ching Ling Memorial Hall is a national patriotic education base for youth, located in Gulu Garden Village, Changsa Town, Wenchang City. It is managed by the Wenchang Soong Ching Ling Foundation.

The Former Residence of the Soong Family is a traditional Hainan-style residential building, built with brick, tile, wood, and earth, featuring a recessed corridor layout with the main house. It consists of two main rooms, one kitchen, three wing rooms, two walled gates, and covers a construction area of 660 square meters. Above the horizontal lintel of the main gate hangs four golden characters “宋氏祖居” (Former Residence of the Soong Family) inscribed by Deng Xiaoping. The Soong Ching Ling Memorial Hall was built in 1985, located to the northwest of the former residence, with an 85-meter distance between them, forming a unified complex covering a total area of 93.6 mu. The memorial hall is a courtyard-style building with a golden-glazed roof, featuring a construction area of 420 square meters. In front of the hall lies a two-tiered front courtyard spanning 720 square meters, where a 1.2-meter-tall bust of Soong Ching Ling, carved from white marble, stands upright at the center of the courtyard. The pedestal is 1.7 meters high, 1.5 meters wide. In the central courtyard of the memorial hall stands a granite bust of Sun Yat-sen. The two busts are aligned on the same central axis, approximately 40 meters apart. About 70 meters to the left of the Soong Ching Ling statue at the front gate stands a granite sculpture of Mr. Soong Yao-ju. On the walls of the central hall in the main house of the former residence hang photos of the Soong family, while the hall is furnished with classic antique chairs. The wing rooms contain a stone mill and a foot pestle, with bamboo hats and straw capes hung on the walls, and farming tools such as plows and harrows placed in the wing room corridors.

On the right wall of the memorial hall’s main entrance hangs a plaque made by the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League, inscribed with the words “National Patriotic Education Base for Youth,” written by [calligrapher’s name omitted]. The memorial hall has three exhibition halls, divided into Halls One, Two, and Three. Using precious historical materials, photographs, charts, paintings, and replicated artifacts, the halls provide a comprehensive, vivid, and detailed introduction to the illustrious life of Soong Ching Ling.

Soong Ching Ling’s father was originally surnamed Han, named Jiao-zhun. His ancestor, Han Xian-qing, originally lived in Nanyang, Xiangzhou, Henan. During the Song Dynasty, he served as the magistrate of Kuaiji County in Zhejiang, later promoted to prefect of Lianzhou in Guangdong. In 1197 AD, he migrated southward, initially settling in Jinping and Puqian, Wenchang, and later his 18th-generation descendant, Zong-teng, moved to Gulu Garden Village, Changsa. Soong Ching Ling’s father was born in Gulu Garden Village. As a child, he was adopted by his aunt Soong’s younger brother and took the surname Soong, naming himself Yao-ru. After the founding of the Tongmenghui (Chinese Revolutionary Alliance), Soong Yao-ru went to the United States to raise funds for the movement. Upon returning to China, he established the Tongmenghui’s secret central liaison office and was appointed by Sun Yat-sen as the chief treasurer of the Tongmenghui. Thereafter, Soong Yao-ru never ceased his financial support for the revolution and was honored as: “Loyal-hearted and fearless for democracy, dedicating his utmost to assist Dr. Sun.”

Soong Ching Ling was born in February 1893 in Shanghai. In 1908, she went to study in the United States. After graduation, she returned to China and served as Sun Yat-sen’s secretary. In 1915, she married Sun Yat-sen. After Sun’s passing, Soong Ching Ling inherited and defended his new [ideology omitted], resolutely fighting against erroneous thoughts and actions. In 1927 and 1929, during the World Anti-Imperialist League conferences, she was re-elected as honorary chair. Later, she became one of the leading figures of the Anti-Fascist Committee. In 1933, she presided over the Far East Anti-War Conference in Shanghai, was elected chair of the China Branch of the Far East Anti-Imperialist and Anti-War Alliance, and delivered her famous speech titled “China’s Freedom and the Struggle Against War.” In 1942, amid a severe famine in Henan, Soong Ching Ling initiated a “Disaster Relief Football Match” in Chongqing and called for all proceeds from the “charity match” to be donated to disaster victims. In 1951, she was awarded the Stalin Peace Prize, which she donated to the China Welfare Institute. In 1955, when Wenchang County suffered from drought, she remitted 500 yuan of her manuscript fee to the county government to aid disaster relief. On September 9, 1949, she was elected vice-chair of the Central People’s Government, and later held long-term positions such as vice-chair of the State, vice-chair of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, and vice-chair of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. She also served as honorary chair of the All-China Women’s Federation, chair of the National Committee for the Protection of Children, and president of the China Welfare Institute. She was elected as a member of the Executive Bureau of the World Peace Council, a council member of the World Peace Council, and chair of the Asia-Pacific Regional Peace Liaison Committee. On May 15, 1981, she became a full member of the Communist Party of China, and on May 16, she was conferred the title of Honorary President of the People’s Republic of China.

Soong Ching Ling passed away due to illness on May 29, 1981, at the age of 88. [Name omitted] inscribed the words “National Treasure” in her honor.

Soong Ching Ling (1893–1981), Honorary President of the People’s Republic of China. A modern female revolutionary and one of the founders of the People’s Republic of China. Her ancestral home is Gulu Garden Village, Changsa Town. She was born on January 27, 1893, in Shanghai. In her early years, she studied at McTyeire School for Girls in Shanghai. In 1908, she went to Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia, USA, affiliated with the Methodist Church. She graduated in 1913 with a bachelor’s degree. In the same year, after returning to China, she began her revolutionary career as Sun Yat-sen’s secretary.

On October 25, 1915, Soong Ching Ling married Sun Yat-sen... More details about Soong Ching Ling ++

Changsa Town: Located on the eastern coast of Wenchang City, along Provincial Highway 203, about 30 kilometers from downtown Wenchang, Changsa Town is the hometown of the Honorary President of the People’s Republic of China, Soong Ching Ling, and one of the province’s four major off-season vegetable distribution centers. The town covers a total land area of 197 square kilometers, with a coastline of 11.7 kilometers. It includes 78,900 mu of sloping land, 165,900 mu of forest land, and 18,735 mu of arable land (including 12,178 mu of paddy fields and 6,557 mu of dry fields). The town administers 13 village (residential) committees, 116 natural villages, 157 economic cooperatives, and has a permanent population of 16,226... More details about Changsa Town ++