A set of aerial photos of the Mei Ling Palace, a now tourist spot in the eastern suburbs of Nanjing, became an online sensation on Saturday.
The bird’s-eye view of the building revealed something that might not have ever been seen by the general public – it looks exactly like a pair of necklaces hanging on the top of the mountain, with the mansion being the sapphire at the center, linked by a string of golden oriental plane trees.
Built in the 1930s, the beautiful residence was named after, and used to be inhabited by Soong May-ling, wife of Republic of China’s leader Chiang Kai-shek. The official name of the property was called “Mansion of the President of the Republic of China.”
As the first lady, Soong played a prominent role in the politics of the Republic of China in the 1940s. Back to then, Soong loved staying in her villa in Nanjing, then capital, for her vacations.
Since 1949, the building had been kept as a state guesthouse and closed to the public. It became open to public visits in October 2013 after a year-long renovation was completed.
Many online users have speculated that the design could have been a disguised token of affection planned by Chiang, but experts have dismissed that as wishful thinking.
“The reality might not be that romantic as it seems. It has nothing to do with the love story between Chiang Kai-shek and Soong May-ling,” said Wen Huibin, Director of Cultural Relics Administration of Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum. “He (Chiang) never told the architect to build it that way.”
CCTVNews
0 comments:
Post a Comment