Xi'an Changning Palace and Chiang Kai-shek's Northwest Palace

I once cycled the entire Ziwu Road in Xi'an, starting from the Zhangba East intersection in the north and going south to the Guanzhong Ring Road under the northern foot of the Qinling Mountains. The total distance was 16.7 kilometers. I also cycled to Xiangji Temple. After passing Xuefu Avenue, there will be a large road sign across the road and billboards erected beside the road.

I discovered Changning Street again when I was riding Huayan Temple (generally the north-south highway in Xi'an is called a street, and the east-west highway is called a road)

Why is it called Changning New District? Why is it called Changning Street? What is the historical reputation of this "Chang Ning"? The place names in the ancient city of Xi'an generally have origins and stories behind them. I understood all this until I found Chiang Kai-shek's Northwest Palace.

In the early Tang Dynasty, Empress Dowager Dou, the mother of Emperor Taizong Li Shimin, had long admired the beautiful scenery of Shenheyuan and came here for a spring outing. She encountered a group of bandits. They ran into a cave in the woods on the western slope of Shenheyuan and hid in it. The bandits then followed, and suddenly a stone pillar fell from the original roof and hit the leading bandit, killing him on the spot. The bandits were panicked and still looking for them. Later, General Qin Qiong came to rescue them and the Queen Mother escaped. After Li Shimin learned about this incident, he deeply felt the power of God and Buddha to help him. In order to express gratitude to God and pray for God's blessings on the Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin issued an edict to build the "West Temple Buddha Temple" on the western slope of Shenheyuan. And the emperor gave this place the name "Changning Palace". It means "peace and permanence". And a stone tablet with the three characters "Changning Palace" was erected here.

The West Temple Buddha Temple is actually a cave-style temple built on the basis of the cave dwelling where the Queen Mother hid on the western slope of Shenheyuan. The restoration based on the legend only started in 2019. On April 6, 2019, which happened to be the day I went there, the plaque was officially hung up. I took this photo just after the workers finished hanging it. It should be the first photo after the restoration.

Changning Palace is not only an auspicious name, the area around it is in the middle of Chang'an District and is a treasure land. With the deepening of reform and development, Xi'an City discovered the cultural and economic significance of Changning Palace, and wanted to deeply explore the cultural and social value of the word "Changning". It decided to incorporate the creation of "Changning New District" into the overall planning of Xi'an City's construction. The Xi'an Municipal Government In accordance with the "one city, multiple centers" urban-rural integrated development pattern, the Chang'an District Government established a comprehensive development zone on the basis of the Changning Group to undertake the functions of industrial transfer, population evacuation and urban extension of the central city.

Now the "Changning New District" is being vigorously promoted, and a "Landscape Changning, Ecological New District" with 34 universities has been presented to people. Someone described this new area this way: "It is bordered by the vibrant Chang'an New City to the north, the majestic and verdant Zhongnan Mountains to the south, the Piao and Jian rivers surround it to the west, and the Shenhe Plateau overlooks it to the east. The mountains, forests, rivers and valleys are beautiful, and the natural resources are abundant. . ”

This is a building with intensive and efficient production space, livable and moderate living space, and beautiful ecological space. A new city that "integrates good mountains, water and scenery into the city".

After the Xi'an Incident in 1936, Chiang Kai-shek didn't even want to hear his name in Xi'an, let alone stay in the five-room Huaqing Pool, Xi'an Huanglou, or Gao Guici Mansion. However, Xi'an was an important strategic hub for the entire Anti-Japanese War and a training base for military and political talents (Whampoa Branch No. 7). It was also the bridgehead of Chiang Kai-shek's anti-Japanese movement, so he had to come. Hu Zongnan, who was already the highest military and political officer in Shaanxi, was troubled by this. One day at the end of 1939, Hu Zongnan took his confidential secretary Xiong Xianghui to climb a mountain to exercise. When they came here, they found a small dilapidated cave temple. There was a stone tablet buried in the mound in front of the cave. After a lot of effort, Chang Ning cleared it out of the soil. The word "Gong" is still clearly visible. Hu Zongnan said to Xiong Xianghui: "Keep this stone tablet. This is a good place. It is on a cliff with lush trees. It is not easy to be discovered by the enemy in the air and on the ground. You can build a house for Mr. Jiang." Then he arranged for people to conduct a survey. Prepare for construction. Construction of Chiang Kai-shek's Northwest Palace began in 1941 and was completed in 1942.

The entire building was designed by a former Soviet architect hired by Hu Zongnan. The palace complex is a villa-style building that combines Chinese and Western styles. The person responsible for supervising the construction of the palace was Wu Bohua, the director of the general office of Huangpu No. 7 Branch. Because of his hard work, Excessive, he was paralyzed in bed soon after the palace was built. During the construction period, Hu Zongnan often came to inspect. After the completion, he repeatedly gave instructions on the quality and placement of all furniture and furnishings, and personally tried sitting on the sofas and beds. Pick up the special phone headset and check whether the wiring is fast, accurate and clear.

Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Meiling stayed here in September 1942, May 1943, and July 1945. Changning Palace was completely transformed into Chiang Kai-shek's northwest palace. The palace complex, indoor facilities, and air-raid tunnels are all well preserved. It is now open to visitors.

The remodeled Changning Palace failed to bring peace to Chiang Kai-shek, and he had no choice but to flee to Taiwan.

Twenty-five years after Chiang Kai-shek’s death, the massive destruction of Chiang Kai-shek’s bronze statue occurred in Taiwan in 2015. In mainland China, both the cemetery at Chiang Kai-shek's ancestral home and this northwest palace are well preserved, expressing people's respect for history.

Looking down at the palace from the original roof, from south to north are the meeting hall, office, living room, and Soong Meiling's makeup and music room on the high slope.

Going up the steps is a small viewing pavilion

The main entrance of the palace is on the south side. There is a small door. After exiting the small door, there are steps leading up to the small pier by the Shenhe River. .

The stone steps outside the door were very narrow, and Chiang Kai-shek had to ride up on a sliding pole when he came to the palace.

Outside the north gate of the palace are several cave dwellings dug uphill, which are the residences of the security forces. After liberation, the writer Liu Qing lived here. The first part of "History of Entrepreneurship" was completed here. Now Liu Qing Deeds picture exhibition room.

A, Council Hall

Council Hall and West Buddha Temple (I took this photo on April 5, before the plaque was hung)

B: Office

C: Living room

The living rooms of Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Meiling had doors to the east and west. The outside room was the living room and the inside was the bedroom.

These three places: living room - office - meeting hall, are connected by a corridor in the middle.

D: Zhongzheng Secret Cave

There are six empty cave dwellings under the earth cliff to the east of the palace, and there are secret caves hidden behind the cave dwellings.

The entire secret cave is one kilometer long, with two main secret exits: one leads directly to the North Gate at the top of Shenheyuan to the north, and the other leads to the South Gate to the south where there is a waterway on the half slope of Shenheyuan. There is a water tank, office, conference room, bedroom, guard room, and bathroom.

Go all the way east to the middle bifurcation, climb all the way north and exit the Beitianmen through the shaft.

Climb all the way south and go directly out of the cave to the Nantianmen. You can go down to the original waterway.

Exiting the cave door is the southern slope of Shenheyuan, which leads directly to the Lihe River.

The design of this secret cave is very exquisite, and it is warm in winter and cool in summer.

The palace is heavily guarded, and one must have a red, yellow, or white pass to enter. And only red passes can enter the core area. The entire palace and interior furnishings are well preserved. The six-hole cave dwelling outside the secret cave was originally the residence of Chiang Kai-shek's second-level guards. It is now a picture and text exhibition of the Anti-Japanese War.

Jiang Weiguo and Shi Jingyi escaped while taking a train from Xi'an. At that time, Shi Jingyi was reading an English newspaper, and Jiang Weiguo asked her for a loan. Seeing that she was an officer, Miss Shi ignored her, but this encounter laid the initial foundation for their union. Jiang Weiguo and Shi Jingyi really met in 1942.

Shi Jingyi's father, Shi Fengxiang, was a great figure in the northwest textile industry. Shi Fengxiang held a grand party to entertain the air force. As the second daughter of the Shi family, Shi Jingyi was the chief receptionist of the Shi family. At that time, Jiang Weiguo lived as the company commander under Hu Zongnan. Shi Jingyi went to college at Northwest Agricultural College. On this day, Jiang Weiguo, who was born in the army, was also invited because he had a cooperative relationship with the Northwest Land and Air Joint Combat Organization. That day, the two got to know each other.

Shi Jingyi’s round face and big eyes exuded a sense of frankness and innocence. She was cheerful and generous, without a trace of the delicate pretense or reserve of a rich lady, which made Jiang Weiguo fall in love with her at first sight. Jiang Weiguo's open personality, enthusiasm for treating others, and personable demeanor also attracted Shi Jingyi. The two fell in love at first sight and soon fell in love. At this time, Jiang Weiguo was nearly 28 years old, reaching the age where his father Chiang Kai-shek allowed him to get married. Soon after the two fell in love, they reported their relationship to their parents. The Jiang family and the Shi family had a good family relationship, and both the political and political families were very happy with the marriage. In 1943, Chiang Weiguo wrote to his father Chiang Kai-shek about his love affair with Shi Jingyi. Soon, Chiang Kai-shek wrote back: This marriage can be combined! .

On December 25, 1944, Jiang Weiguo returned to Shi Jingyi’s hometown of Xi’an and held a ceremony in Changning Palace. Hu Zongnan was also entrusted by Chiang Kai-shek and his wife to organize the wedding and served as a witness. The wedding was naturally extremely luxurious. Chiang Kai-shek did not have time to attend the wedding, but he sent two words: "If the family is well managed, everything will be prosperous."

This is the two-story villa building outside the north gate of the palace where Jiang Weiguo got married and spent his honeymoon. Now many young people in Xi'an come here to hold weddings.

Today's Changning Palace is already a tourist and leisure resort, with not only the West Temple of Buddha, Chiang Kai-shek's Northwest Palace, and Chiang Weiguo's villa. On the original roof, the Xi'an Tourism Group built a Changning Palace Leisure Villa that integrates catering, accommodation, conferences, tourism and sightseeing. There are children's entertainment areas, exhibition buildings, hotels, swimming pools, scenic hotel experience areas, and a field experience training base on the mountain.

The residential area of ??the villa is divided into scenic spots, which is the cave dwelling experience area.

Bus No. 323 goes directly to Changning Palace, which is very convenient. This is one of the cultural tourism attractions in Changning New District. One kilometer eastward is Huangfu Village, where Liu Qing, known as the "people's writer" lived, and Liu Qing's cemetery is located at the head of the village. Another travelogue of mine - the humanistic journey of "In Tribute to the People's Writer Liu Qing" during the Qingming Festival in 2019, features Liu Qing's deeds and the story of the cemetery guardian.