Small Villa, Xikou, Architectural heritage site in Fenghua District, China.
Small Villa in Xikou, originally named Hanzhai and also called Shanxi Xiaozhu, is a two-storey Western-style house built in 1930 at the eastern foot of Tandun Hill, west of Wenchang Pavilion. Its three-bay facade is coated in lime and cement, then called "foreign ash", which gave the building its name. It has front and rear courtyards, a balcony with cement balustrades, and an open corridor on the west leading to Wenchang Pavilion.
Built in 1930 by American adviser W. H. Donald for Chiang Kai-shek to house staff and military officials, the villa became Jiang Jingguo's home after his 1937 return from the Soviet Union. Chen Bulei wrote Xi'an Half-Month Record here. After 1949 it served as a PLA officers' residence, then a factory office, and was restored and opened to the public in 1979. It was listed as a National Key Cultural Relic in 1996 as part of the Chiang Family Residence.
The name Xiaoyangfang comes from the lime and cement used on its walls, called "foreign ash" (yanghui) at the time. Jiang Fangliang, Jiang Jingguo's Soviet wife, once swam in the stream from the platform beside the house, prompting local gossip and a reminder from Chiang Kai-shek. A copy of Jiang Jingguo's inscription "Wash blood with blood" is displayed inside.
The site is open to visitors and you can explore the rooms best by taking your time to notice the different areas and details. It helps to check beforehand whether guided tours are available and what access rules apply.
The house is named after its lime-and-cement render, called "foreign ash" (yanghui) at the time, which gave the building its popular name. In 1979 it was restored to how it looked when Jiang Jingguo lived and studied there, and a copy of his inscription "Wash blood with blood" was placed inside.
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