The last home of Mei Lanfang, the most celebrated Peking Opera performer of the twentieth century and the artist who carried the form to Western audiences, sits in a quiet courtyard house off Huguosi Street near the Houhai lakes. Mei specialised in the dan female roles, and the rooms are kept much as he left them at his death in 1961 — furniture, costumes, photographs, and stage memorabilia among them.
It is a small, low-key museum that will mean most to those with some interest in Chinese theatre, but the preserved siheyuan itself is a pleasant example of a well-to-do courtyard residence. An easy addition to a walk around the Shichahai lakes.