Former Sites of the Legislative Yuan, Judicial Yuan, and Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission of the Nationalist Government

Former Sites of the Legislative Yuan, Judicial Yuan, and Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission of the Nationalist Government

The Former Sites of the Legislative Yuan, Judicial Yuan, and Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission of the Nationalist Government are national key cultural relics protection units.

Era: 1937–1946

Type: Important Modern Historical Site and Representative Architecture

Region: Yuzhong District, Chongqing

Batch: Seventh Batch

The site faces south with a 15-degree eastward orientation, has nine floors, and is a Sino-Western style brick-and-wood structure. It spans 35.6 meters in width, with a maximum depth of 18.41 meters. The main building is 32 meters tall, and the auxiliary building is 22.14 meters tall. The building covers a construction area of 5,030.28 square meters and a land area of 558.92 square meters. The structure consists of a pavilion, main building, side wings, and auxiliary building. Its pyramidal and hip-and-gable roofs feature distinct Chinese elements, representing a typical eclectic style that blends Chinese and Western architectural features. It holds high landscape and architectural value and serves as an important reference for studying the development of Chongqing’s architecture in the last century. The Legislative Yuan was the highest legislative body of the Nationalist Government, established in October 1928. It was responsible for deliberating on legal bills, budget proposals, amnesty proposals, declarations of war, peace treaties, treaty proposals, and other major state affairs. In November 1937, it relocated to Chongqing under the leadership of President Sun Fo. The Judicial Yuan was one of the five branches of the Nationalist Government and served as the highest judicial authority, also overseeing judicial administration and adjudication. The Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission was the highest government agency managing affairs related to Mongolia and Tibet, as well as being the top body responsible for ethnic affairs. Originally named Yilin Private Hospital, the site was built in 1935 on wasteland at Guanyinyan by brothers Li Yiming and others from Zigong, Sichuan, with Li himself serving as the hospital director. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance against Japan, the Nationalist Government moved its capital to Chongqing. Successive institutions such as the Legislative Yuan, Judicial Yuan, Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission, Ministry of the Interior, and the Chongqing Garrison Command took over the Yilin Hospital for office use. After the war, these government bodies, including the Legislative Yuan, Judicial Yuan, and Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission, returned to Nanjing along with the Nationalist Government, while the Yilin Hospital remained under the control of the Chongqing Garrison Command until 1947, when it was returned to Yilin Hospital. After the liberation of Chongqing, Li Yiming donated the private Yilin Hospital to the Chongqing Municipal People’s Government. In August 1950, the Chongqing Health Bureau reorganized it into the Second People’s Hospital of Chongqing. In February 1961, it was merged and restructured again into the Chongqing Surgical Hospital. In 1999, after major renovation, the Chongqing Surgical Hospital was renamed Zhongshan Hospital. This site not only bears witness to the difficult period of the Nationalist Government’s relocation to Chongqing but also stands as a vital historical and cultural resource in safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as promoting the reunification of the motherland, making it of great historical significance. In 1992, it was designated as a district-level cultural relics protection unit by the then Zhongzheng District (now Yuzhong District) People’s Government. On December 15, 2009, it was listed among the second batch of Chongqing Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Units by the Chongqing Municipal People’s Government.

In May 2013, the Former Sites of the Legislative Yuan, Judicial Yuan, and Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission of the Nationalist Government were announced as part of the seventh batch of national key cultural relics protection units.

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units