Celebrity Hot Spring Villas

Celebrity Hot Spring Villas

Celebrity Hot Spring Villas are located in Conghua, Guangzhou, within the hot spring area, 15 kilometers from Jiekou. It is both a scenic tourist destination and a health resort. In 1930, Li Wuzi, the then magistrate of Conghua County, was on an inspection tour in the countryside when he noticed local villagers washing clothes in steaming water and identified it as a hot spring. The following November, he invited lawyer Chen Danian, Zhujiang Convalescent Garden director Liang Peiji, Lingnan University professor Xian Yuqing, and Southwest Airlines deputy director Liu Yifu to visit the hot springs together. They drew water samples back to Guangzhou and had them tested by German doctor Ke Dao from Zhujiang Convalescent Garden, who confirmed that the hot spring water had therapeutic effects on rheumatism and neurasthenia. In 1932, Chen Danian, Liang Peiji, Liu Yifu, and Li Wuzi jointly invested in building a bamboo shed named Yuhuxi Pavilion to oversee the development of the hot spring area. They also advocated for the establishment of the “Conghua Hot Spring Development Promotion Association,” which constructed plank walkways, stone bridges, pavilions, and even established schools. Thereafter, numerous celebrities and dignitaries built villas in the hot spring area. Early constructions included Xi Bin Yi Wu, Keshu Shan Fang, Lin Yunkai Villa, Ruyu Xuan, Ruomeng Lu, Huanshan Tang, and later additions such as Schneider Villa, Rotary International Villa, Ou Fangpu Villa, Yiyoushan Fang, Chen Jitang Villa, Xuanyin Yuan, Xie Yingzhou Villa, and Hu Mulan Villa—totaling 37 villas. In 1936, Liang Peiji set up a branch of Zhujiang Convalescent Garden in the hot spring area (now buildings 4, 5, and 6 of the Hot Spring Hotel), built in imitation of traditional architecture with green-glazed tiles; 400 meters away from the branch, there is a large stone carving inscribed with “Tianyi Chu” (Heavenly Healing Place) and accompanying inscriptions.

Among the villas, Chen Jitang Villa is the most distinctive. It is situated in the eastern section of the hot spring scenic area (currently Building 11), built in 1936. Designed in traditional Chinese architectural style, it features red bricks, a hip-and-gable roof, yellow-glazed tiles, and a green-glazed central ridge. The structure is 22.5 meters wide and 10.25 meters deep, with two stories. At the front entrance, there is a columned porch; inside is a living room, with rooms on both sides. A staircase is located behind the living room, and the floor is paved with octagonal cement floral tiles. It remains well-preserved today.

All celebrity villas are built in traditional Chinese architectural styles, featuring flexible layouts and unique decorations. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, these villas were all repurposed as part of the Hot Spring Hotel and cadre sanatoriums. Many central leaders and foreign heads of state have stayed here.