Palace of Soong will be restored

The Palace of Soong Mei-ling, a classical building in Nanjing where the former first lady of Republic of China and her husband used to reside, is expected to reopen in October after its first major renovation in about 60 years.

The Palace of Soong Mei-ling stands on a hill in a suburban area in the eastern part of Nanjing, Jiangsu province. [PHOTO BY SONG QIAO / FOR CHINA DAILY]

Before the work began, the three-story building — used by Soong and her husband, former Kuomintang leader Chiang Kai-shek, in the 1930s and 1940s — had fallen into disrepair, according to a cultural heritage management bureau.

Large pieces of the colorful paintings on its ceilings and walls have peeled off.

Some of its windows are broken, pillars unstable and railings cracked.

To restore the building, which was later used as a resting place for senior officials on their way to visit the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, 20 million yuan ($3.2 million) will be spent on the 300-day renovation project, said Liu Dong-hua, director of the cultural heritage department under the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum management bureau.

The original appearance of the palace will be retained to the greatest possible extent, Liu said.

The renovation will first reinforce the structure and then replace or repair all the wood flooring.

The major part of the work will be the colorful paintings, according to Liu.

A panel of experts from Beijing's Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, who are recognized as being exceptionally skilled in restoring painting on old buildings, will be invited to restore the paintings.

Natural mineral pigments designed for the repair of ancient buildings will also be purchased for painters to achieve the best results.

The glazed green tiles on the roof of the palace may be totally replaced with new tiles of the same color and shape, and orders for these special tiles will be placed with professional factories in Beijing or Yixing, in Jiangsu province.

The renovation work also includes removing the air conditioners on the outside walls and termite prevention.

The work will be carried out strictly in accordance with the building's blueprint.

"The blueprint was found by chance when we collected materials for the maintenance work," said Zhou Zhongxing, general manager of a service company of the palace.

The design drawing, which contains five pieces of paper, detailed the structure and function of each story, he said.

The renovation team is soliciting old photos and decorations that used to be in the palace.

A 200-square-meter basement in the palace, which contained some functional rooms, such as a kitchen, boiler room and laundry, will be restored and opened to the public for the first time.

The palace, built from 1931 to 1934, was later named after Soong for her frequent visits when she was in Nanjing, then capital of the Republic of China.

Soong was the youngest of the famous three Soong sisters. Their husbands, including Sun Yat-sen, founding father of Republic of China, and Chiang Kai-shek, played large roles in China's history in the early 20th century.

Since 1950, the palace has been handed over to several management departments, including the city's health bureau and a large hotel company.

In March, 2012, it was put under the management bureau of Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, which also manages other historical buildings from the time when Kuomintang ruled China.

Contact the writers at cangwei@chinadaily.com.cn and songwenwei@chinadaily.com.cn