The Chen Lianbo Residence

The Chen Lianbo Residence

The Chen Lianbo Residence is a protected cultural heritage site of Guangzhou.

Located in Xiguan, the residence of the Chen brothers—Chen Lianbo and Chen Lianzhong—consists of two adjacent Western-style villas. The names of the Chen brothers may be unfamiliar today, but they were extraordinary figures in Guangzhou a century ago. Coming from an eminent family, their grandfather, Chen Qiyuan, founded China’s first mechanized silk reeling factory, “Jichanglong,” which marked the beginning of modern industry in China—a fact recorded in history textbooks. Chen Lianbo and Chen Lianzhong successively worked as compradors at HSBC and jointly operated the Changzhan Silk Firm, almost monopolizing the raw silk trade in Guangdong. Coupled with businesses such as banking and pawnshops, they became immensely wealthy and prominent merchants in Guangzhou. Chen Lianbo also served as the leader of the Guangzhou Chamber of Commerce. In 1924, he was involved in the notorious Guangzhou Chamber of Commerce Incident, a significant event in modern history. The incident was suppressed under the command of Sun Yat-sen, and Chen Lianbo was wanted, fleeing to Hong Kong.

During the War of Resistance against Japan, Chen Lianbo became a collaborator, serving as one of the four members of the “Chinese Representative Council” in Hong Kong. On the eve of the victory of the war, Chen Lianbo took a Japanese ship, the “Ginrei Maru,” to Australia. En route, the ship was bombed and sunk, and he perished at sea. Meanwhile, Chen Lianzhong moved to Hong Kong before the liberation and later relocated to Australia.

Both villas are three-story buildings facing west, with the northern building being the Chen Lianbo Residence. It features a more varied exterior with Baroque-style decorations. At the time, Chen Lianbo used the place as the “Liwan Club,” where high-ranking officials from the Guangdong and Guangxi warlord factions frequently gathered. It now appears to be vacant and unrenovated, looking rather dilapidated.

The entrance gate is flanked by Western-style gatehouses made of granite, each with European-style columns supporting the arched gate roof. A wall extends westward from the gate. Inside is a three-story brick-and-wood structure in European style. The entrance on the ground floor is located on the western side, featuring a round archway with a triangular pediment at the top. Each floor has a corridor in front, with bottle balustrades on the second floor and iron railings on the third. The ground floor is paved with terrazzo, while the upper floors have wooden flooring. To the west of the building is a courtyard with a pond that connects to the Liwan Stream. In the southern part of the pond is an artificial hill, with skillfully arranged rocks and a banyan tree whose roots twist intricately around the stones, merging seamlessly with them—referred to as the “Banyan on Stone.” The northern part of the garden has a dock for boats. After the Liwan Stream was converted into a road, the former dock was turned into an entrance. In 1992, the Liwan Museum was established here.

Chen Lianzhong, a native of Jiancun Village in Xiqiao, Nanhai County, was the younger brother of Chen Lianbo, the comprador of HSBC in Hong Kong and leader of the Guangzhou Chamber of Commerce.

In 1993, the Guangzhou Municipal People’s Government designated the Xiguan traditional houses architectural area (including the Chen Lianzhong Residence) as a protected cultural heritage site.

Further Reading:

· Fourth Batch of Guangzhou Protected Cultural Heritage Sites