It was March 31 2011; I was in Ningbo for some conference and found myself that day off and then I came to Xikou, Fenghua, which is just around 38 km from the downtown Ningbo. It was the place I had been looking to visit as it is the birthplace of the President of Former Republic of China, Chiang Kai-shek and his son Chiang Jing-guo, as it is the first place that General Zhang Xueliang was imprisoned by Chiang Kai-shek in 1936 after the Xi’an Incident and as it is known to be with beautiful scenery since in line with Chinese Fengshui rules the birthplace of those great men are usually with elegant sceneries endowed with the quintessence of the nature.
It turned out to be an unusual journey.
When I just stepped off the bus, the women who were washing their clothes in the clear Shanxi (the name of the river) while talking and laughing attracted my eyeballs. For how long I haven’t seen the scene, I didn’t recall and it seemed that I just saw this scene on the screen before. “What happiness the locals are enjoying!” I said to myself, “Especially in the modern industrialized China, pollutions could be seen almost everywhere, and many traditions lost, they still can keep their living style dated back hundreds of years! What a fine harmonious picture of human and nature! ”
Rediscovering a blood-and-flesh Chiang Kaishek
I wandered along the street of Chiang Kai-shek’s hometown and seemed to have seen the occasion when the Generalissimo was in his midday.
Wuling Gate, Yutai Salt Shop, Wenchang Pavilion and Fenggao House… nearly all the places here are with a series of historical stories. While at all the other places it is denounced of Chiang’s anti-communism and his reactionary brutal acts, here, you will not hear those comments. Here it changed all what I have learned through the textbook in primary and middle schools, which just framed Chiang as a typical reactionary without any humanity. However, the truth…What would be a big irony when you found you had been cheated for all your passed years. Just like the local residents, when I finished the tour, I should say there arose some respect and appreciation for Mr. Chiang. His respect for the tradition, his filial piety, his ideal and his learning and his

family all turned out to tell you that he was not that without humanity. And on the contrary, it was a blood-and-flesh Chiang Kai-shek. He lost the world but it doesn’t mean he lost himself.
When I wandered about the streets and around all his former residence, listening to the stories, looking at the pictures, enjoying the sceneries and recalling the situations when the hosts once lived in, a scroll of pictures unfolded before me.
Born in 1887, Chiang left home for military school at the age of 17 and spent the rest of his life pretty much away from this tranquil little town. Between the many ups and downs of his political career before 1949, Chiang came back here frequently to recoup energy.
Yutai Salt Shop—Chiang’s birthplace
My first stop was the Yutai Salt Shop, the family business where Chiang Kai-shek was born. The medium-sized building is austerely practical, and most of the rooms are conspicuously empty. Except for a few traditional chairs, tables, and cavernous Ningbo-style beds scattered about the occasional compartment, most of the building is an extended gallery of enlarged black-and-white photos, captioned in Chinese and English. One room is dedicated to pictures of the extended Chiang family and another to the immediate family and Chiang in his youth. Now groups of tourists came and go, with listening to the story of Chiang’s family, from his great grandfather to him, but who would have thought all those stories would be repeated once after once in those early days?
Fenghao House— a glance at Chiang’s personal life
Then I came to the requisite and impressive Fenghao House, Chiang’s family home. The house is a typical traditional residence of the wealthy families in south China. There are altogether 49 rooms and two courtyards in the compound. Cultural Revolution rage was directed at the vestiges of the Kuomintang and its leaders with unmitigated intensity. Red Guards even defaced the nearby grave of Chiang mother, almost prompting military intervention. It’s surprising that the buildings were left standing.
The old residence of Mr. Chiang was just a small house, the one with three small rooms. After he became the leader of Chinese Nationalist Party, he came back to his hometown and expanded the whole place into an old style complex of over 4800 square meters. And there were some pretty good interesting stories behind the building of this place.
The ancestral hall, Baobentang was decorated with many exquisite wood carvings and stone carvings based on Chinese folklores. Here two things just impressed me so deeply, one is outstandingly noticed by the tourists, which is a board inscribed four Chinese characters 寓理帅气(yu li shuai qi) on the wall of corridor which means governing one’s emotion with ‘reason’. They were inscribed by Chiang Kaishek for his eldest son Chiang Ching-kuo’s 40th birthday on April 15th 1949. The four characters contained Chiang Kaishek’s expectation for his son. Actually it was not long before Chiang was forced to move to Taiwan. And Chiang Chingkuo really did not let his father down and when he advocated and tried to implement democratic reform in Taiwan, there were kinds of barriers, opposing voices ringing at the ears, Chiang Ching-kuo successfully practiced 寓理帅气, and persisted in the reform and finally succeeded in establishing the democratic system in Taiwan. The other thing which impressed me is the swallow nest next to the beam at the ceiling. Maybe all other tourists would not have seen that, but it touched me that moment. When the host were here, would be these swallows allowed to build their home there? In the eyes of the swallows, they would not see any difference for this house and others.
It is said that Chiang came back to Xikou in 1929 and bought up nearby properties to rebuild his family house. One of his neighbours, Mr. Zhou, was reluctant to move and complained that Chiang has forgotten his childhood pal now that he became the president of the Nanjing Nationalist government. In the end, Chiang decided not to touch Zhou’s property. So, one corner of the complex was still Mr. Zhou, his neighbor’s property.
Fenghao House’s photo gallery details the Generalissimo’s rather convoluted personal life. At a young age, he married Mao Fumei, chosen by his parents. She bore Chiang Ching-kuo, who inherited the leadership of Taiwan after his father’s death in 1975. In 1927, Chiang divorced Mao in order to marry Song Meiling, of Shanghai’s powerful Soong family, who insisted on being “head wife” instead of concubine. Mao Fumei was killed by a Japanese air raid in December,

1939; the lane in back of the Fenghao House kitchen where the shell exploded and the iron window bars bent by the blast are on display. Mao’s remains were buried at the Chiang ancestral compound nearby at Mo Ke Dian. One intriguing photo shows Chiang and the smartly-dressed Song Meiling performing the ritual obeisance at Mao’s grave. Chiang also took on two young concubines, one of whom, after being exiled to the US, wrote a bitter tell-all entitled Chiang Kai-Shek’s Secret Past: The Memoir of His Second Wife, Chen Chieh-Ju. That she was actually his third wife seemed to have escaped the fact checkers.
That’s those great men. How about Chiang’s counterpart Mao? I am lost in thought and did not want to say anything.
As to the narrow staircase, it is said that it was built by Mr. Chiang Kai-shek for his mother, in the memory of his mother; because his mother had those small wrapped feet, so it’s really hard for her to walk those staircases. So Mr. Chiang built the staircases that way she can use these as the walking sticks to get to the top of the house.”
Chiang Kai-shek was known as a dutiful and obedient son to his mother. His father died when he was only seven, it was his mother who single-handedly brought him up.
Too many stories around this house, here it just gave me a new opportunity to rediscover Chiang Kai-shek.
Wenchang Pavilion—what an amazing place!
At the Wenchang Pavilion, I seemed to feel the comfortable life that Chiang Kai-shek and Soong Meiling lived there when they just got married.
The scenery seen from the window is just amazing! Wenchang Pavilion has a geographic advantage, because it is the most beautiful scenic spot in the town. It lies to the south of Wushan Mountain, near Shanxi Creek. Looking into the beauty spot of the southern Shanxi Creek and down the long street, you will really feel the terrific landscape.Wenchang pavilion was originally built in the 9th year of Emperor Yongzheng in Qing Dynasty (in 1731). It has an honor of ‘rushing into the Kui Pavilion’. It was one of the top 10 Scenic Spots in the Qing Dynasty. During the 1924 Qingming, when Chiang kai-shek returned hometown to sweep the tombs and saw the Wenchang Pavilion was too old and dilapidated, he paid to have the pavilion demolished and rebuilt. A two-story attic architecture was implemented with upturned eaves built in the next year in a 500 square meters area. Chiang kai-shek called it the ‘Pleasant Pavilion’ and wrote Pleasant Pavilion of Wuling to describe the beautiful spot. After he got married with Soong meiling in December 1927, it became their library and private villa as well, a place where they lived when they returned home. The first floor of Wenchang Pavilion was a meeting room and the second floor Chiang kai-shek and Soong meiling’s bedroom and living room. All the furniture is arranged as before the host lived here. Just seeing all the pieces of furniture and the pictures on the wall as well as the amazing scenery from the windows, I seemed to have seen the cozy and comfortable life here where they hosts lived. Could the commons enjoy this kind of life? The answer is definitely no.
Quiet Wuling School
Across the Wenchang Pavilion is an excellent building of the Republican period called Wuling School. With very few tourists, the schoolyard appeared unusually quiet as a scenic spot. A tree of magnolia flowers was silently displaying the last few blooming flowers before the auditorium. It was some enjoyment for me to enjoy such kind of peacefulness. Established in 1929 by Chiang kai-shek, it complied with his mother’s testament. The school building was invested in with 300000 silver dollars and takes up more than 90 mu of the field. The environ-

ment is of the best quality and the facilities are complete in all ways. It consists of a teaching building, dormitory building, library, playground and dining room. The Wuling School was cared for by Chiang’s clan since its establishment. Chiang kai-shek assumed the President of Wuling School. Soong meiling Chiang Chingkuo and Chiang Weikuo were all directors of the school.
The auditorium of Wuling School is the main assembly place for special occasions. It is said to have held important activities including Song meiling 49th birthday party. The writing of the foundation stone was inscribed by Chiang kai-shek for the school on the base of the auditorium. Entering the auditorium, one can imagine Chiang kai-shek admonitory talks to the subordinates and students in those years and entertaining the VIP of Kuomingtang upstairs in the high dwellings.
Wuling Gate
The Wuling Gate divides old Xikou from the modern installment of tourist hotels; to its right sits the unimpressive Xikou Museum. Once a combination temple and opera hall, with its raised stage still ensconced in the entry courtyard, the museum details traditional customs of the region. Besides Chiang Kai-shek, Xikou lacks history of any note. The exhibits consist of the usual lifesize wax people--in this case, sedan chair bearers--along with a number of smaller dioramas depicting scenes of daily life and practices during festivals, not much different from today.
Beyond the gate, passersby are swamped by an army of bicycle rickshaws offering to show them around.
Not so tranquil at the tranquil Xuedou Mountain
Tired of the overdose of history and photographs, reflection on history always makes people feel heavy. For lingering along the Wuling Street so long, there is not much time for me to visit Xudou Moutain, which I had heard before famous for its natural beauty, for as the first place where General Zhang Xueliang was at house arrest and for its position as the dojo of Maitreya. Though the locals told me it was too rush for me to visit Xuedou Mountain, I still decided to be there after buying some Qiancengbing, the famous snack of Xikou in a rush.
Xuedou Mountain scenic area lives up to the comment for it: serenity, seclusion, magnificence, and wonderfulness. The major scenic spots includee Qianzhang Crag with waterfall dascading downhill, Miaogao Terrace with tall peaks, Sanyin Pool , Feixue Pavilion and the Xuedou Temple. Except for a little far Sanyin Pool, I managed to visit all the other spots.
In front of the Xuedou Temple, there is a waterfall, which is called Qianzhang Crag Waterfall. The water of the Milky Spring flows through the Jinjing Pool and the Guanshan Bridge, pour down at the Qianzhang Crag. From the top of the crag to the pool, the waterfall is 186 meters high. The waterfall was famous as early as in the Song Dynasty. Some poets even wrote poems to praise the Xuedou Waterfall. The Feixue Pavilion opposite to the waterfall is the best location to appreciate the magnificent scene of the Xuedou Waterfall.
Climbing up the hills northwest of the Feixue Pavilion, you can see the Miaogao Terrace, which is on the verge of the deep valley, and there are lots of ancient pines on the terrace. standing in front of the platform, you can look down upon the natural landscape of Tingxia Lake. The old trees have grown thick around Miaogao Terrace, green bamboos help one avoid the strong sunshine, and the cool wind blows , which is an ideal resort for avoiding the summer-heat.Construction behind Miaogao Terrace is a private villa built in 1927 by Chiang kai-shek. You can see the horizontal tablet with‘Miaogao Tai’inscribed in black and white hung on the middle of the second floor, which was written by Chiang kai-shek. The whole villa is comprised of two stories, six rooms up and down, connects with a western terrace.
The serene landscape of Xuedou Mountain scenic zone will definitely make you forget about the turmoil in the secular world. Maybe that’s why one of the most famous Buddhist temples in Zhejiang Province found its location here. Built 1,700 years ago, Xuedou temple worshipped the Buddha of Maitreya. On the gate of the temple there is the stele written by Chiang Kai Shek , which read “四明第一山”(sì míng dì yī shān). Entering the gate, there are two ginkgo trees, which were planted during Han Dynasty. The two trees are with different gender. The one on the left is female, while the one on the right is male.
The gigantic statue erected among the mountains, seeming to smile at all the lives in the world. However,the tranquility of Xuedou mountain does not always provide peace of mind, at least that’s the case for General Zhang Xueliang in 1937 while he was imprisoned by Chiang Kai-shek in the then travel agency of Xuedou mountain.
In 1936, Zhang Xueliang seized Chiang Kai-shek in Xi’an and forced him to establish a united front with Chinese Communist Party against the encroaching Japanese.
Zhangxueliang got the promise from Chiang, at the price of his own freedom though. Zhang was just 37 years old when he was first imprisoned here, and didn’t regain freedom until in his nineties.