Former Site of Duan Qirui's Executive Yuan

　　During the Qing Dynasty, there were three mansions here: the eastern one was the Prince of Heshun’s Mansion, the central one was the Beile Feisu Mansion, and the western one was the Princess of Hejing’s Mansion. The predecessor of the Prince of Heshun’s Mansion was the residence of Beizi Yun?. In the 11th year of the Yongzheng reign (1733), the fifth son of the Yongzheng Emperor, Hongzhou, rebuilt it as the Prince of Heshun’s Mansion. The Beile Feisu Mansion was the residence of Prince Gong Changying in the early Qing Dynasty. In the late Qing Dynasty, all the buildings within the two mansions were demolished and replaced with three groups of brick-and-wood structures: the central main building was a European classical-style gray brick structure, with one building on the east, west, and north sides.

　　In 1912, when Yuan Shikai served as the provisional President of the Republic of China, the State Council was located here; after 1919, when Jin Yunpeng served as Premier and Minister of War, it was renamed the Premier’s Office; in 1924, when Duan Qirui was elected as the provisional executive of the Republic of China by the Beiyang warlords, it became the Executive Yuan. On April 10, 1926, a political coup took place in Beijing. National Army generals stationed in Beijing, led by Lu Zhonglin, surrounded the provisional Executive Yuan, forcing Duan Qirui to flee; the Executive Yuan collapsed and was taken over by General Feng Yuxiang. When Wang Shuchang served as Commander of the Beiping Garrison, it was renamed the Beiping Garrison Headquarters. Before 1937, it became the military headquarters of the 29th Army in Beiping and the Hebei-Chahar Political Council. In 1937, it became the headquarters of the Japanese North China Garrison Army led by General Kanji Ishiwara, while the eastern courtyard housed the Japanese intelligence agency Kōa-in, led by Kita. After 1945, it was converted into the headquarters of the 11th War Zone Command and the Beiping Garrison Command. In 1949, it was used as a campus by Renmin University of China. In 1978, the main building was used by the Institute of Qing History. The former site of Duan Qirui's Executive Yuan, originally the Prince of Heshun’s Mansion, was the residence of Hongzhou, the fifth son of the Qing Yongzheng Emperor, who was granted the title of Prince of Heshun. After the Republic of China, it became the location of the Beiyang Government’s Navy Ministry. In 1924, after the Zhili-Anhui War, it was converted into Duan Qirui's Executive Yuan.

　　On March 18, 1926, over 5,000 people from all walks of life in Beijing, under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party and figures such as Li Dazhao, protested in front of Tiananmen against the Japanese imperialist aggression violating China’s sovereignty. After the rally, they marched to the Executive Yuan of Duan Qirui. Duan Qirui’s guards opened fire, resulting in a bloody tragedy with 47 killed and over 150 injured. Liu Hezhen and Yang Dequn, students of the National Beijing Women's Normal University, lost their lives in the massacre.

　　To commemorate the martyrs and promote patriotism, the Beijing Municipal People's Government designated the former site of Duan Qirui's Executive Yuan, the site of the “March 18 Massacre,” as an important cultural relic protection unit of Beijing. Dongcheng District listed it as a youth patriotism education base.

　　Address: No. 3 Di’anmen East Street, Dongcheng District

　　Location: Located on Zhangzizhong Road, Dongcheng District. Transportation Info: Get off at Zhangzizhong Road Station on bus lines 13, 42, 113, 115, 118, 701, 734, 823, 850, and head north on the right side of the road.

　　 Dongcheng District, Beijing

　　Duan Qirui (1865～1936)　　Duan Qirui (1865–1936), originally named Qirui, courtesy name Zhiquan, also known in his later years as the Elder of Zhengdao, was a Han Chinese from Hefei, Anhui. Born on March 6, 1865 (the 9th day of the 2nd month of the 4th year of the Tongzhi reign in the Qing Dynasty), he was a politician during the Republican era and leader of the Anhui Clique warlords. 　　He was from Taipingji in Lu’an County (now Jinqiao Township, Feixi County). Born on March 6, 1865 (the 9th day of the 2nd month of the 4th year of the Qing Tongzhi reign), in his ancestral home three li north of Taipingji in Lu’an County, his grandfather Duan Pei (courtesy name Yunshan) had previously traded in smuggled salt and organized local militias with Liu Mingchuan, earning merit in suppressing the Nian Rebellion and eventually becoming commander of the Huai Army, leading troops abroad. His father, Duan Congwen, was a farmer who made a living by renting and cultivating land, and his mother... Details+