Near Prince Gong's Palace in Houhai, the traditional residence of nobles and celebrities since the Qing dynasty, there are a few historical sites like Price Qing's palace, Prince Chun's Palace, Soong Ching Ling's former residence and Peking Opera master Mei Lanfang's old home.
Like Prince Gong's Palace, Prince Qing's palace has witnessed many changes in the past centuries.
Prince Chun owned two mansions, one in Taiping Hu (Peace Lake) in Xicheng District and one on the north bank of Houhai, which is quite near Prince Gong's palace. Prince Chun, Yihuan, was the seventh son of Emperor Daoguang (reigned 1821-1850). When his brother ascended the throne as Emperor Xianfeng, Yihuan was given the title of Prince Chun (junwang) and later built a residence in Taiping Hu. In 1875, Yihuan' s second son, Zaitian, took the throne as Emperor Guangxu, and conferred permanent royal status on his family. The family then moved to a new mansion on the north bank of Houhai. In November 1908, Yihuan' s grandson Puyi, took the throne, and Puyi's father Zaifeng became the acting regent. Thus the family mansion was renamed "Mansion of the Regent Prince" or Beifu (Northern Mansion), as it stood to the north of the old residence at Taiping Hu. In 1924, when Puyi was forced out of the Imperial Palace, he returned here before moving to Tianjin.
After the liberation in 1911, the residence's garden became the home of Soong Ching Ling, wife of Sun Yatsen (1866-1925), father of republican China admired by both the China Communist Party and Kuomintang. She lived there until her death in 1981, devoting much of her time to education. The mansion now houses offices of the Ministry of Public Health.
Located southeast of prince Gong's palace is the prince Qing's residence. Its owner Yikuang, the powerful official during empress Cixi's reign, was the former minister of foreign affairs and later prime minister. When the Qing Dynasty finally collapsed in the 1911 revolution, Yikuang moved to Tianjin to live in seclusion and never come back. His offspring later sold the residence and it became the government offices during the Republic of China (1912-1949). Now most of the original buildings have been destroyed and only the west part remains.
Part of the residence has also been the home of renowned Peking Opera master Mei Lanfang, who first introduced the folk art to foreign countries and established the Mei school of the Peking Opera.
(China Daily 03/17/2006 page4)
