🏯 Qi Qiu Bai Memorial Hall

"I am the first swan of Jiangnan, carrying spring to the tips of the clouds."
——Qi Qiu Bai, The First Swan of Jiangnan

📍 Basic Information

Address: No. 188 Yanling West Road, Zhonglou District, Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province (140 meters west of Dongsheng Chan Temple)
Opening Hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 9:00–16:30 (last entry at 16:00); closed on Mondays (except public holidays)
Admission: Free entry; visitors must reserve tickets with valid ID (via WeChat official account “Changzhou Culture & Tourism” or on-site QR code scanning)
Contact: 0519–86672228
Transportation Guide:
- Metro: Exit 4 of Cultural Palace Station on Line 1 of Changzhou Metro, walk approximately 500 meters
- Bus: Take routes B1, B11, 211, or 302 to “Changzhou Hotel” stop, then head east for 200 meters

📜 Historical Development

Qi Qiu Bai Memorial Hall is the only specialized museum in China dedicated to comprehensively showcasing the life and ideological achievements of Comrade Qi Qiu Bai—the early prominent leader of the Communist Party of China, an outstanding Marxist theorist, literary figure, and revolutionary.

1985: Approved by the Central Committee of the CPC, the memorial hall was established on the site of Qi Qiu Bai’s former residence (originally known as “Bai Gui Tang”);
1996: Officially opened to the public and designated as a National Base for Patriotic Education;
2006: The main building underwent expansion, forming a unified layout integrating “Former Residence + Memorial Hall + Huai Shuang Pavilion + Qiu Bai Calligraphy Art Academy”;
2013: Qi Qiu Bai’s Former Residence (including the memorial hall) was listed by the State Council as a Key National Cultural Relic Protection Unit, Seventh Batch;
2021: Selected by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee and the National Cultural Heritage Administration as one of the “Outstanding Exhibitions Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Founding of the Communist Party of China.”

🌟 Historical Significance: This site was where Qi Qiu Bai lived and studied during his youth (1899–1916). Bai Gui Tang was originally built during the Ming Dynasty’s Wanli era and purchased by Qi’s ancestors in the Qing Dynasty’s Qianlong period, later restored and preserved. It stands as one of the most complete surviving examples of Ming-era residential architecture in Changzhou and marks the birthplace of Qi Qiu Bai’s revolutionary ideals.

🏛️ Architectural and Exhibition Features

Architectural Layout

The memorial hall follows traditional Changzhou residential design, adopting a style characterized by “three courtyards and four side wings, gabled roofs with gray tiles, and timber-framed construction.” The overall layout is solemn and elegant, blending the aesthetic heritage of the Ming and Qing dynasties with modern commemorative spatial expression:

First Courtyard (Entrance Hall): Features a relief sculpture corridor presenting a concise biography of Qi Qiu Bai and an audiovisual installation in the entrance hall;
Second Courtyard (Main Hall): Restored to reflect the daily life setting of the Qi family, displaying Qing-dynasty furniture, private school desks, and a facsimile of the Qi Family Genealogy;
Third Courtyard (Main Exhibition Hall): A three-story, climate-controlled exhibition space featuring six thematic sections that systematically present Qi Qiu Bai’s life journey:
- ✦ Aspiring Youth · Talented Scholar of Jiangnan (1899–1916)
- ✦ Seeking Truth · Journey to Soviet Russia (1917–1922)
- ✦ Leadership at the Core · Pen as Weapon (1923–1927)
- ✦ Pillar in Crisis · Stepping Forward in Peril (1927–1931)
- ✦ Literary Titan · Pioneer in Translation (1931–1934)
- ✦ Martyr’s Final Song · Heroic Spirit Lives On (1934–1935)

Key Cultural Relics (Originals or Replicas)

🔹 Rare handwritten copy of Qi Qiu Bai’s The Extra Words, a national first-class cultural relic
🔹 First issue of the quarterly journal New Youth (1923), edited by Qi Qiu Bai, with cover designed by him
🔹 Original letter from Lu Xun to Qi Qiu Bai (preserved at Shanghai Lu Xun Memorial Museum); this hall displays high-resolution replicas and transcriptions
🔹 German-made Zeiss telescope used by Qi Qiu Bai and an English typewriter from the 1920s
🔹 Handwritten horizontal scroll in running script, written before execution in Zhangting, Fujian Province, in 1935: “When the mists of the world have vanished, there lies my realm of freedom” (reconstructed based on historical records)
🔹 Sea Chronicle Volume I, inscribed by Lu Xun to Qi Qiu Bai (first edition, hardcover, published in 1936)

🌟 Cultural Value and Academic Standing

Center for Ideological Research: The hall hosts the “Qi Qiu Bai Research Center,” collaborating with institutions such as the Central Party History and Literature Research Institute and the School of Marxism at Peking University. It has published authoritative works including Comprehensive Chronology of Qi Qiu Bai and Collected Translations by Qi Qiu Bai (15 volumes);
Carrier of Red Gene: One of the first national “Practice Teaching Bases for Major Ideological and Political Courses,” receiving over 1,200 party education groups annually;
Landmark in Literary History: For the first time, it systematically documents Qi Qiu Bai’s pioneering contributions to vernacular poetry, translation of Russian and Soviet literature (Pushkin, Gorky), and the theoretical development of left-wing drama;
Model of Architectural Heritage: The original structure of Bai Gui Tang remains intact, with beams, painted rafters, brick-carved gateways, and courtyard paving restored according to Qing Dynasty craftsmanship, reflecting the architectural wisdom of Jiangnan scholar-official residences.

🎨 Special Experiences and Public Services

Immersive Exhibitions:
- “Frostlight Night Reading” AR Interactive Zone: Uses augmented reality to recreate Qi Qiu Bai translating lyrics of the Internationale under lamplight in the western wing of Bai Gui Tang;
- “Voice from the Cloud Treetops” Audio Guide: Features selected poems, speeches, and recordings of Qi Qiu Bai (based on historical phonograph records), available in multiple languages.
Educational Programs:
- ✅ “Qiu Bai Lecture Hall”: Monthly public lectures hosted by historians and literary scholars;
- ✅ “Little Green Pine Study Camp”: Educational programs for primary and secondary students, including immersive courses like “A Letter Home” and “Translating for the Nation”;
- ✅ “Huai Shuang Literary Gathering”: Regular events featuring red poetry recitations, vintage bookbinding experiences, and woodblock printing workshops.
Visitor Facilities:
- Full accessibility with barrier-free access | Nursing rooms | Free storage | Wheelchair and stroller rental | Multilingual guide maps in Chinese, English, Japanese, and Korean

📸 Visitor Tips

⏳ Recommended Visit Duration: 1.5–2.5 hours (including visit to the former residence, main exhibitions, and cultural product area)
📸 Best Photo Spots:
- Wisteria arbor in front of Huai Shuang Pavilion (peak bloom in April)
- Light-and-shadow corridor beneath the stone plaque “Yun Shao” in the third courtyard’s courtyard
- Bamboo panel wall on the south side of the memorial hall inscribed with 20 classic quotations from Qi Qiu Bai
🛍️ Recommended Souvenirs:
- “First Swan of Jiangnan” silk scarf series (featuring Qi Qiu Bai’s handwriting and Changzhou cloud patterns)
- The Extra Words hand-bound notebook (replicating the format of early 20th-century publications, with Qi family calligraphy headers)
- “Shuang Hua” celadon tea set (glaze inspired by the Danxia landforms of Zhangting, Fujian Province, where Qi Qiu Bai was executed)

🌈 Closing Reflection:
Qi Qiu Bai Memorial Hall is more than a building or historical site—it is a spiritual sanctuary. With bricks and timber as its paper and exhibitions as its ink, it writes the unwavering loyalty, integrity, and vision of a “scholar-leader.” Every step taken here is both a passage through a century of turbulent history and a journey back to the heart of faith.

Qi Qiu Bai Memorial Hall

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