Meiling Palace

Meiling Palace (Chinese: 美齡宮, aka Meiling Villa and Meiling Gong) is a large villa in Nanjing, China, built by the chairman of the Chinese National Government, Chiang Kai-Shek, for his wife, Soong Meiling. It is known formally as the National Government Chairman Residence (Chinese: 国民政府主席官邸).^[1]

Meiling Palace National Government Chairman Residence
美齡宮 国民政府主席官邸
View of the villa
General information
Architectural style	Chinese
Location	No. 9 Zhongshanling, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China
Coordinates	32.045479°N 118.846507°E / 32.045479; 118.846507
Completed	1934
Technical details
Material	Brick
Floor count	2 + basement and mezzanine
Floor area	c.2000 m2
Other information
Public transit access	Metro Line 2 to Xiamafang Station, exit 2; bus 34 to Bo'aiyuan[1]

Meiling Palace
Traditional Chinese	美齡宮
Simplified Chinese	美龄宮
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Měilínggōng Bopomofo ㄇㄟˇ ㄌㄧㄥˊ ㄍㄨㄥ Wade–Giles Mei3-ling2-kung1 IPA [mèɪ.lǐŋ.kʊ́ŋ] Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Méihlìhnggūng Jyutping mei5 ling4 gung1 IPA [mej˩˧.lɪŋ˩.kʊŋ˥]
National Government Chairman Residence
Traditional Chinese	國民政府主席官邸
Simplified Chinese	国民政府主席官邸
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Guómín Zhèngfǔ Zhǔxí Guāndǐ Bopomofo ㄍㄨㄛˊ ㄇㄧㄣˊ ㄓㄥˋ ㄈㄨˇ ㄓㄨˇ ㄒㄧˊ ㄍㄨㄢ ㄉㄧˇ Wade–Giles Kuo2-min2 Cheng4-fu3 Chu3-hsi2 Kuan1-ti3 IPA [kwǒ.mǐn ʈʂə̂ŋ.fù ʈʂù.ɕǐ kwán.tì] Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Gwokmàhn Jingfú Jyújihk Gūndái Jyutping gwok3 man4 zing3 fu2 zyu2 zik6 gun1 dai2 IPA [kʷɔk̚˧.mɐn˩ tsɪŋ˧.fu˧˥ tsy˧˥.tsɪk̚˨ kun˥.tɐj˧˥]

The villa is located below Purple Mountain, about 6 km from Nanjing's city centre in the Zhongshan Mountain Scenic Area.^[2] It is the largest villa in Nanjing, with a floor area of more than 2,000 m².^[1]

Meiling Palace was completed in 1934, as a residence for the chairman of the Chinese National Government.^[1] Chiang Kai-Shek gave the mansion to his wife on her birthday, 4 March, and the couple moved there in summer 1936.^[3] Later it was used as a base for officials visiting the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, located nearby. After the end of the war between China and Japan in 1946, the National Government moved back to Nanjing and Chiang Kai-Shek used this villa as his official residence.

Room inside the villa

The exterior of the villa was built in a traditional Chinese style with double eaves and a roof of green glazed tiles.^[1] There are more than a thousand phoenixes carved on the roof tiles. The Chinese artist Chen Zhifo (1896–1962) painted the eaves with birds and flowers. Viewed from above, the trees surrounding the villa are in the form of a necklace. The interior was in a western style.

The building has two main storeys, a basement, and a mezzanine between the first and second floors. In the basement, there is an exhibition of paintings by Soong Meiling.^[4] On the second floor, there is a private chapel.