Former Residence of Na Tong

　　    The former residence of Na Tong is located at No. 176 Xinhua Road, Heping District, as it stands today. In the early years of the Republic of China, Na Tong purchased the land here and built two buildings—one large and one small—both in German-style villa design. The larger building is a reinforced concrete structure with ground-floor living rooms in two styles: traditional Chinese (including both Han and Manchu styles) and Western (European and Japanese). The smaller building is a two-story red German-style villa, built with brick and wood, featuring a tiled roof and covering approximately 500 square meters with 15 rooms. The compound originally included four garages and was richly landscaped with flowers and plants. There were also once flower stands and a pond in the courtyard. The larger building was demolished in 1980, but the smaller building remains well-preserved. Na Tong mainly lived here after his retirement. This residence has been listed as an immovable cultural relic under the protection of Tianjin, though not yet officially designated as a protected cultural heritage site.

　　Yehe Nara · Na Tong (1857~1925)　　    Na Tong (1857–1925), of the Manchu Plain Yellow Banner under the Imperial Household Department, belonged to the Yehe Nara clan. His courtesy name was Qinxuan. In 1885, he placed 112th in the Shuntian Provincial Examination (Yiyou Year) under the imperial examination system and earned the title of Juren (presented scholar). He advanced from a clerk in the Ministry of Revenue to the rank of Fourth-Class Metropolitan Official, appointed as Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial, then promoted to Academician of the Grand Secretariat. In 1900, he served as a minister of the Zongli Yamen (Office for the Management of the Business of All Foreign Countries) and concurrently as Left Vice Minister of the Lifan Yuan (Court of Colonial Affairs). After the Eight-Nation Alliance captured Beijing, he was appointed as a minister remaining in the capital, accompanying Yikuang and Zaifeng in negotiations and other affairs. Later, he became Governor of Zhili Province and Minister to Japan. In 1902, he was also dispatched as an envoy to attend the Japanese Exposition. In addition to visiting the exposition, he led his entourage in carefully studying...... Details+