Jingyuan Garden
Constructed in 1921, Jingyuan Garden is located at 70, Anshan Road, Heping District, the heritage site under city protection and the important historic architecture under the special protection area of Tianjin. Originally named Qianyuan Garden, it was the private residence of Lu Zongyu, minister-counsellor to Japan appointed by the Northern Warlords’ Government.
In 1929, Qianyuan Garden was changed its name to Jingyuan Garden by Puyi, the last emperor of Qing Dynasty when he settled here. ”Jing” means ”stillness” and the Garden was named after the emperor who try to strengthen himself with noble spirit by living in a peaceful environment.
The complex consists of the main building, library, servants’ chamber, kitchen, and garage. The main brick-wood building is two-storied while some parts are three-stories. The first floor serves for a living room and a dining room, while the second floor for bedrooms. The stairways and floors are made of wood. The exterior walls are stucco but partially dry with glazed quarry tiles. The red-tiled sloping-roofs accent the gardens which link all the corridors together flawlessly. The whole complex looks simple eclectic.
After the liberation of Tianjin, the Garden was used as an office building and then transformed into a civil dwelling for many families. In October of 2005, the 45 families were asked to move out of the Garden, so the unapproved structure which does not belong to the original complex could be demolished by the Department of Land Resources and Housing, Tianjin via the Protection of Building of Historic Significance, Tianjin.
Restoration and renovation were initiated in line with the principle of Restoring to its Original State and guaranteeing Safety and Applicability. And by July of 2007, the work had been completed and the Garden had reopened to the public.
(China.org.cn by Wang Ke)