Zhou Enlai’s Hometown is located in Huai’an City, northeast Jiangsu Province. With a total of 3.2 square kilometers (1.2 square miles), Zhou Enlai Hometown Tourism Area has various heritages and memorial buildings about Zhou, and other ancient structures. The tourism area mainly consists of Zhou’s Former Residence, Zhou’s Memorial Hall, Hexia Ancient Town and Fuma Alley.
Zhou Enlai (1898-1976), born in Huai’an, was the first premier of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Not only was he a great revolutionary, politician and diplomat, but he also made tremendous contributions to the founding and development of the PRC.
Former Residence of Zhou Enlai
The former residence of Zhou is located in Fuma Alley, which is like a Hutong in Beijing. In the alley are some local residential buildings and some old stores providing local specialties.
In front of the residence is a river, which played an important role in Zhou’s childhood. He often took a boat across the river to nearby villages and learned the folk customs there. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, he said that this river initially provided a vital way for him to know the outside world.
Zhou’s former residence mainly consists of two east/west courtyards totaling 32 rooms. The buildings were constructed in the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644 AD) with bricks and tiles. In the east courtyard are the residences of Zhou’s grandparents and parents, Zhou’s reading room, a well and an agricultural field. The well is still used by local people who think the water is good for their health.
The west courtyard is now an exhibition hall with over 200 pictures mainly about Zhou’s childhood and family background, and some other great national leaders. In addition, there is a hall built later which displays Zhou’s paintings and writings.
At the back of the residence, there is a yard with wintersweet trees, cedar trees and a clump of bamboos. The cherry trees, a gift from the former Japanese Prime Minister, were added later. There is also an elm tree and a Guanyin tree, both of which are over 100 years old.
Zhou Enlai Memorial Hall
The Memorial Hall in Zhou Enlai’s Hometown is composed of two groups of buildings, a memorial island and three artificial lakes surrounded by green land. Seventy (70) percent of the scenic area is water landscape. The major buildings scattered along the 800-meter-long axis include the View Platform, Main Memorial Hall, Attached Hall, Zhou’s Bronze Statue and other pavilions. Among these attractions, the Main Memorial Hall is the most famous.
The Main Memorial Hall is in a quadrangle shape 26 meters (85 feet) tall. The four granite pillars propping up the hall roof represent Zhou’s idea of the “Four Modernizations” for four times. Inside the hall is a white marble statue of Zhou, which is 4.7 meters (15 feet) high. The Hall also exhibits a large number of pictures and objects about Zhou’s life. From the top of the building, you can view the whole tourism zone.
In addition, there is a Bronze Statue of Zhou Enlai in the front square. The statue is 7.8 meters (26 feet) high, a reference to the 78 years of Zhou’s life. The gesture of the statue derives from the way Premier Zhou talked to the public in the late 1950s.
Hexia Ancient Town
In the Hexia Ancient Town you can visit the former residence of Wu Cheng’en, the author of “Journey to the West”. Inside the town are some sites and statues of gods from the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644 AD). Most of the houses were built in the Qing Dynasty and 90 percent of the road is stone with a long history. Strolling in Hexia Ancient Town, you may experience the simple and unsophisticated local life style. In addition, there are some local special inns and tea houses. The Huaiyang cuisine in the ancient town is very well-known.
How to get to Zhou Enlai’s Hometown
Former Residence of Zhou Enlai: Take bus 62/65 to get there directly.
Zhou Enlai Memorial Hall: Take bus no. 8/10/63/67/618 and get off at the memorial hall.
Hexia Ancient Town: Take tourism bus no.1/2 and get off at the ancient town station.
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