Former Residence of Jin Yunpeng

　　The former residence of Jin Yunpeng is located at No. 2 Sichuan Road, Heping District. It was purchased in 1929 from the British Municipal Council under the name of Yanfutang. It is a courtyard-style Western-style building with a spacious yard. The entire residence consists of 53 rooms, including both multi-story and single-story buildings, with a total floor area of over 3,500 square meters. There are two main sections, front and back, both constructed with brick and wood. The front building is the main structure, a three-story building with a basement, featuring wide steps at the front; the first and second floors are adorned with eight cement pillars supporting the arches above the corridors, giving it a majestic appearance. The third floor has a rooftop terrace, and the living spaces are tall with various decorative patterns on the ceilings. The rear building is a two-story, corridor-style row house. Jin Yunpeng lived on the first floor of the main building. After stepping down from office, he became keen on Buddhism, so a Buddhist shrine was also set up in the residence. This former residence has been listed as an immovable cultural relic in Tianjin that has not yet been officially designated as a protected historical site.

　　Jin Yunpeng (1877~1951)　　Jin Yunpeng (1877–1951), courtesy name Yiqing, was the Premier of the Beiyang Government. He was from Miaozhuang, Zouxian County (now Zoucheng City). He came from a farming family. His father died early, and he and his mother, Madam Qiu, made a living by selling pancakes and working as a wet nurse (Jin’s mother once nursed Pan Fu). He began attending private school at age 8 but soon dropped out. In 1894 (the 20th year of the Guangxu reign), at the age of 18, he was recruited into the “Newly Created Army” trained by Yuan Shikai at Xiaozhan in Tianjin. Four years later, he was selected to join the first class of the Artillery Training School affiliated with the Army Training Camp. After graduation, he stayed on as an instructor and earned the deep appreciation and trust of Duan Qirui, the supervisor of the school. He was later ranked first among Duan’s “Four Great Generals.” In 1909 (the... Details+