Former Residence of Bao Guiqing

　　The former residence of Bao Guiqing is located at No. 81 Ping’an Street, Hebei District. This residence consists of two buildings purchased and designed by Bao Guiqing in his own name under the name Jide Hall Bao between 1920 and 1921. Covering an area of 7.941 city mu with a construction area of 2,400 square meters, it is divided into four parts: the main building, rear building, east building, and south building. The main building serves as a reception building, featuring three stories with a basement. The interior is exquisitely decorated with fine wooden carved screens, and two Western-style round wooden columns support a space that can be used as a ballroom. On the large terrace on the third floor’s southern side, there are three pavilions—Chinese style, Western classical style, and modern Western style—making it a uniquely styled building that blends Chinese and Western architectural elements. The courtyard contains rockeries, pavilions, fish ponds, and flower gardens. The residence is currently used as a military retirement home and has been listed as an immovable cultural relic in Tianjin that has not yet been officially designated as a protected cultural heritage site.

　　Bao Guiqing (1867~1934)　　Bao Guiqing (1867–1934), courtesy name Tingjiu, was born in 1867 in Xiaowa Village, Haicheng County, Liaoning Province, into a poor farming family. At the age of 19, he joined the Huai Army under the command of General Ye Zhichao, who held him in high regard and later sent him to study at the Yuguang Military Preparatory School near Shanhaiguan and the Beiyang Military Preparatory School in Tianjin. After graduation, he was promoted to positions such as battalion commander, brigade commander, and division commander. After the outbreak of the Xinhai Revolution, recommended by Duan Qirui, Bao Guiqing rose rapidly through the ranks and became an important figure during the Warlord Era of the Beiyang government. In 1917, as the Military Governor of Heilongjiang Province, Bao became a key member of the Fengtian Clique and was soon appointed concurrently as provincial governor. Later, due to deep conflicts with Zhang Zuolin, he resigned from his post... More+