Former Residence of Zhang Xun

　　The former residence of Zhang Xun is situated on No. 6 Pukou Road in the German Concession (now No. 6 Pukou Road, Hexi District), extending from Taierzhuang Road in the east to Jiangsu Road in the west, reaching Pukou Road in the south and Bengbu Road in the north. It was a Western-style building purchased from the Qing imperial family, constructed in 1899 with German architectural design. The main structure consists of an eastern and a western building, comprising 56 rooms and 54 single-story houses, covering a land area of 16,585 square meters and a construction area of 10,737 square meters. The eastern building served as the residential wing, designed in the shape of a lion. The western building functioned as the guest reception area, accessible via high steps leading to a circular foyer, connected by corridors. The ground floor housed a theater with a second-floor viewing gallery. The front section of the second floor features a large terrace. The courtyard includes rockeries, pavilions, a lotus pond, stone bridges, rowboats, as well as kept birds, animals, and flowers. The entire property is well laid out and offers a serene environment. It is currently used by the Municipal Commodity Inspection Bureau.

　　Zhang Xun (1854~1923)　　Zhang Xun (December 14, 1854 – September 11, 1923), originally named Zhang He, with the courtesy names Shaoxuan and Shaoxuan, also known as Songshou Laoren, and posthumously honored as Zhongwu, was a native of Fengxin County, Jiangxi Province, and a prominent warlord of the Beiyang clique during China’s modern period. In the late Qing Dynasty, he served as the Governor-General of Yunnan, Gansu, and Jiangnan. After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, to demonstrate his loyalty to the imperial family, Zhang Xun prohibited his troops from cutting off their queues (braided hair), earning him the nickname “the Queue General.” In 1913, he suppressed the anti-Yuan forces. Later, he served as the Yangtze River Patrol Inspector and Governor of Anhui. In 1917, under the pretext of mediating the “Palace-Cabinet Dispute,” he led troops into Beijing and, on July 1, together with Kang Youwei, supported the restoration of Puyi to the throne. However, on December 12, his forces were defeated by the “Anti-Rebellion Army” of the Anhui Clique warlord Duan Qirui. ... Details+