Former Residence of Li Jishen

Opening Hours: 8:00 – 17:00 Ticket Price: 3 RMB Contact Number: 0774-2890202 Address: Liaoshen Village, Wuzhou City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Best Visiting Seasons: Spring and Autumn Complaint Hotline: 0774-3856362

It takes a 15-minute drive from Longxu District to arrive.

The Former Residence of Li Jishen is located in Liaoshen Village, Cangwu County, Wuzhou City. Mr. Li Jishen, former Vice Chairman of the Central People’s Government, was born here in 1885.

Li Jishen (1885–1959), courtesy name Renchao, was a native of Cangwu, Guangxi. He graduated from the Army College of Beijing. He once served as Chief of Staff and Acting Division Commander of the 1st Division of the Guangdong Army, Army Commander of the 4th Corps of the National Revolutionary Army, Vice President of Whampoa Military Academy, and Chairman of the Guangdong Provincial Government. In 1933, he organized the People’s Revolutionary Government of the Republic of China in Fujian to resist Japanese aggression and oppose Chiang Kai-shek, and assumed the post of Chairman. In 1948, he initiated the founding of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang and served as its Chairman. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, he successively held posts including Vice Chairman of the Central People’s Government, First and Second Vice Chairmen of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, and Vice Chairman of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd National Committees of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. He passed away in Beijing in 1959.

Built in 1925, the residence is a manor-style brick-and-timber compound enclosed by a perimeter wall with four blockhouses at each corner. Inside stand courtyard-style wing rooms and multi-story buildings, with covered corridors on the roof connecting to the blockhouses, blending Chinese and Western architectural arts. It covers a land area of 3,040 square meters. Behind the house lies a lush ancient Mesua ferrea forest, creating an elegant serene setting. The site is a National Key Cultural Relic Protection Unit.

The residence features a grey-brick courtyard house complex, backed by luxuriant ancient Mesua ferrea woods. A marble stone slab is embedded above the main gate, inscribed with five big Chinese characters "Former Residence of Li Jishen" handwritten by Hu Yaobang. Climb the wooden stairs to the second floor, where elegant Western-style balustrades line the surrounding verandas. Floral and foliage carvings on doors and windows lend a classic antique charm. The second floor retains Li Jishen’s bedroom, reception room and telegraph office, with most furnishings preserved as they were in his lifetime.

Though construction started in 1925, the residence hosted numerous senior Kuomintang officials and a large group of patriotic cultural figures under Li Jishen’s reception. The sloped roof is fitted with raised walkways linking the four corner blockhouses, forming a defensive complex suitable for both offensive and defensive operations. After liberation, the residence underwent multiple renovations. In 1997, it was listed as a National Key Cultural Relic Protection Unit and an Autonomous Region-level Patriotic Education Base. Visitors marvel at the perfect integration of Sino-Western architectural aesthetics and the seamless combination of living quarters and military blockhouses. The demeanor of Li Jishen, a renowned democratic revolutionary and former Vice Chairman of the Central People’s Government, together with his revolutionary feats, leaves a deep impression on all tourists.

In 1929, after being imprisoned by Chiang Kai-shek in Tangshan and released, Li Jishen returned to live here. In 1936, he convened a meeting of the National Revolutionary Alliance at this residence. During the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, he united figures from the Kuomintang, the Communist Party of China and cultural circles — including Chen Mingshu, Jiang Guangnai, Cai Tingkai, Zhu Yunshan, Mei Gongbin, Chen Xizhou, Xuan Xiafu and others — to discuss anti-Japanese operations behind enemy lines. In 1944, following Zhou Enlai’s suggestion, Li Jishen came back to his old residence to organize civilian armed forces. Together with a team of patriotic cultural figures dispatched by Dong Biwu, he set up the Southern Region Anti-Japanese Committee here to carry out resistance work behind enemy lines while maintaining telegraphic communication with Yan’an