Guest House (German Viceroy Mansion Site Museum in Qingdao)
Updated: 2010-02-26 13:24
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Mansion profile
This building used to be the residence of the German viceroy, the highest military and administrative leader of colonial Qingdao. So it is called Viceroy Mansion. The mansion was began in July 1905 and finished in July 1907. In October of the same year, Truppel, the then German viceroy in Qingdao moved in. Waldck, his successor, also lived in the mansion until 1914.
This construction was a big step for Germany after it occupied Qingdao, demonstrating the ambition of German colonizers. Situated on the slope of Xinhao Mountain, the mansion has a great location and majesty. Its designer was a German called Lazarowic. The total cost was at least 450,000 Gold Mark. The floor area is nearly 4,000 square meters and the highest point reaches over 30 meters. Its external wall is made of simply processed stones and decorated by granite. The front-door wall is decorated by light green and gray granites, which forms a picture of the sun shining out. In one corner, there is a big stone pillar protruding out of the wall with “anchor chains” around the sun rim. There is also a stone-made sail as well as a Normandy faucet protruding out of the wave-like eaves. An exquisite stone decoration is imbedded under the small round window and there are red pan tiles, blue scale tiles and green oxtongue tiles on the roof. The main building has 4 floors with 13 major rooms and 17 ordinary rooms. All the rooms are independent but interconnected. The semi-basement contains kitchen, boiler, cellar and storeroom. The second floor is the work, recreation and social place, performing the society function of the mansion. On the floor, there are hallway, central hall, study, drawing room, reception room, dining room and greenhouse. The third floor is where the viceroy family lives. On this floor, there are master bedroom, mother & infant room, children’s room and play room. On the fourth floor are guest rooms.
Artistic features and historical and cultural values of the building
Viceroy Mansion has great history, research and art values. It reflects the charm of multiple culture convergence. The mansion is a world-famous building with rich cultural information. After transcending historical constraints, it has become an important symbol of cultural relationships between China and other countries. It is also a classical symbol of this city that is rich in history and culture. In the last century, the building and the city shared experiences together. To have a new look at this magic building and this famous city requires a broad yet sophisticated perspective. Only by looking through history to objectively grasp human art value can we get insight about the future. The concepts of “l(fā)ooking at China from the outside world” and “l(fā)ooking at the outside world from China” can be combined. The clash and mingling of the two cultures really offers food for thought.
Contact：Xiao Lisha Tel：15863455336
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| The sitting room |