A walled garden compound on the quiet north shore of Houhai, originally part of a Qing prince's estate, where Soong Ching-ling — widow of the republican founder Sun Yat-sen and later an honorary head of state of the People's Republic — lived from 1963 until her death in 1981. The house is preserved as a museum, her rooms left much as she kept them, with photographs, letters, and personal effects tracing one of the most remarkable lives of twentieth-century China.
The real pleasure is the garden: a classical layout of ponds, rockeries, and pavilions that is far less crowded than the better-known sights nearby. It pairs naturally with a walk around the Houhai lakes and a visit to Prince Gong's Mansion a short distance south.