In Cuiheng Village, Nanlang Town of Zhongshan City, there is the internationally well known Sun Yat-sen’s Former Residence, a sanctuary appealing to passengers. This village is only 25 kilometers far from the city and 37 kilometers from Macao.
This village is renowned internationally not only for its beautiful landscape, but also for the sake that it has Sun Yat-sen’s birthplace. Here is an ember two-story building characterized by both Chinese and western styles, the former residence of Mr. Sun Yat-sen.
On 12 November 1866, Sun Yat-sen was born here and this house was originally a farm bungalow covering only 30 square meters. In 1982, Sun Yat-sen’s brother Sun Mei, a businessman in Honolulu sent money to his home,and Sun Yat-sen, who was having his studies in Hong Kong Medical School designed and built the current building. On the right hand of the facade outside the wall, there is a stone plaque written by Song Qingling, which reads, “Sun Yat-sen’s Former Residence” in Chinese. Inside the wall, there is a hawthorn planted by Mr. Sun Yat-sen, luxuriant and tough though lying prostrate on the ground due to a typhoon. Guo Moluo, a distinguished Chinese scholar wrote a line of verse “a dragon of hawthorn” at the sight of the unique form of this tree when he toured this place. The bearing of the tree conjures up rich imagination. On both sides of the gate, there is a couplet composed and written by Mr. Sun, which reads “A rafter is enough for my residence/Trees accompany me.” On the right of thehouse, there lies a well, by which Sun Yat-sen was born. The middle room of the first floor is the hall, laid out as it was. Further deep was the bedroom for Mr. Sun’s mother. On the left side of the hall was the bedroom for Lu Muzhen, Sun Yat-sen’s first wife while on the right was the bedroom for Sun Yat-sen’s brother Sun Mei and the latter’s wife. The middle room of the second room has been empty and in the back of it is a shrine, both sides of which are respectively Sun’s study and a guestroom.
It was in the predecessor of this house that Sun Yat-sen spent his boyhood. Between 1892 and 1895, Sun had his pre-career three years when he treated his country folks for their diseases, and read books about history and politics to seek approaches and truth saving the people in a dire crisis. Here he wrote his To Li Hongzhang (a Prime Minister of the Qing Dynasty) to show his patriotic concern for his country and people. Here, he and his close friend Lu Haodong made their “Recovery of China” anti-Qing-Dynasty plan.
In the northwest of the residence, there was built a “Exhibition Hall for Sun Yat-sen’s Former Residence” and “Studio for Speeches Made by Sun Yat-sen,” where precious historical films on him and records about his re-interpretations about the Three Principles of the People in 1924.
After their tours here, the visitors may be impressed with patriotism and understand why tens of thousands of domestic and international tourists frequent this place.