Former Residence of Ding Guitang

　　Ding Guitang’s residence is situated at No. 45 Fen Yang Road. The Western-style house was constructed in 1932 as a three-story brick-and-wood building, designed by the architectural firm of Peddle & Frye, covering a land area of 8,000 square meters with a floor space of 1,236 square meters. Originally serving as the official residence of the Customs Commissioner, it later became the home of Ding Guitang, the Deputy Commissioner of the Chinese Maritime Customs Service, hence also known as the Ding Guitang Residence. It is an exceptionally luxurious Spanish-style garden villa.

　　The main building is positioned in the central-northern part, with the auxiliary building located to the northwest of the main building and connected to it. In front of the main building lies a large garden dominated by a 1,500-square-meter lawn, while behind it, a large driveway shaded by tall cedar trees leads to the courtyard.

　　Entering through the steps along the north façade of the ground floor of the main building, you reach the foyer, with a cloakroom and bathroom on either side. A continuous cloakroom runs through, connecting at the other end to the stairwell, allowing the host to go upstairs directly after passing through the cloakroom. The hall is centrally located within the building plan, featuring a spacious veranda facing south, with a guest room and study to the east, and a dining room and pantry to the west. Outside the dining room is a square-shaped large balcony, which can serve both as a resting and strolling area during meals and as a separate entrance and foyer for the dining room. Between the hall and the dining room, there are broad, flat steps that create a change in elevation, lending an air of nobility to the layout—especially with the wide staircase and platform of the stairwell connected to the hall. When the host descends the stairs to greet guests in the hall, it exudes a sense of pride.

　　The second floor centers around a guest room used for receiving relatives, with a set of bedrooms, living rooms, and bathrooms on either side. On the east side, the bedroom also has a separate room for the children of the owner, along with a bathroom. To the north of the corridor are three staircases: besides the main staircase, the eastern staircase leads to the third floor, while the western one is for servants. The third floor, considered the attic level, contains three bedrooms, various-sized bathrooms, and a sewing room.

　　The architectural façade is symmetrical on both sides with the central hall as the axis. The ground floor is surrounded by a continuous arched veranda, with the center featuring three continuous semi-circular archways supported by four pillars, all fronted by a long, broad platform. The second-floor veranda prominently highlights the main entrance of the residence. The window frames are adorned with paired columns featuring twisted patterns and arched designs—specifically spiral Spanish-style columns—adding to the building’s opulence. The window sills are very low, increasing the amount of natural light and giving the structure a strong flavor of southern European architecture. The railings of the upper-floor balconies are made of cast iron, their patterns combining Mediterranean coastal regional influences with modern functionality (emphasizing practicality). The main building’s façade features white cement-textured walls, a red barrel-tiled roof with a hip-and-valley design, and a continuous arched decorative band under the eaves, fully showcasing the characteristics of Spanish architecture. Among the many Spanish-style residences in Shanghai, this building stands out as the most beautiful.

　　Overall, the building’s layout is both rational and grand, taking full account of the movement routes and hierarchical relationships among the owner, guests, and servants. Its façade composition and detailed treatments distinctly reflect Spanish architectural features, making it a model of modern Spanish-style residential architecture in Shanghai. From a distance, this garden villa nestled among lush greenery resembles a landscape painting from Europe.

　　After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the residence served as the office building for the Shanghai Customs College. Since 2000, when the college relocated to its new campus in Pudong, the building has been under the administration of the Shanghai Customs. It was listed as a municipal-level protected modern outstanding architectural heritage site in 1989.

　　

　　Ding Guitang (1891~1962)　　Ding Guitang, courtesy name Rongjie, was born on November 18, 1891, in Haicheng County, Liaoning Province, during the 17th year of the Guangxu reign in the Qing Dynasty. As a child, he helped his father and elder brother with farm work. At the age of 10, he attended a private school, then continued his education at an elementary school in his county. In 1910, the second year of the Xuantong reign, he graduated from Fengtian Advanced School and subsequently taught at Dongguan Elementary School in Fengtian. In the spring of 1912, he enrolled in the Fengtian Political Science School but later transferred to the Beijing Customs College, from which he graduated in March 1916. In July of the same year, he was assigned to the Andong Customs as a probationary officer, and was promoted to assistant officer in August of the following year. In the autumn of 1917, he was transferred to the Beijing Inspectorate General of Customs to work as a typist, and was promoted to assistant officer in the Chinese Language Section in 1923. Ever since he... More+