Tianjin Gege Mansion Museum

Gege Mansion is located on the south street of the Drum Tower in Tianjin, consisting of two courtyards and is […]

Gege Mansion is located on the south street of the Drum Tower in Tianjin, consisting of two courtyards and is a typical Qing Dynasty residential architecture. Its first owner was Heshuo Gege, who lived in Tianjin during the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, hence the name Gege Mansion. Heshuo Gege, whose real name was Yu Deling, was born in 1886. Her father, Yu Geng, was an envoy of the Qing court to Japan and France, and her mother was French.

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Yu Deling grew up abroad with her father, mastering eight languages and diplomatic etiquette. In 1903, at the age of 17, Yu Deling returned to Beijing with her father and became an imperial translator for Empress Dowager Cixi, highly appreciated by the Old Buddha, and was titled Heshuo Gege. In 1904, upon learning that Empress Dowager Cixi intended to marry her off, Yu Deling found an excuse to move to Tianjin and later to Shanghai.

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In 1907, Yu Deling married Thaddeus White, the American vice-consul in Shanghai, and moved to the United States with her husband to engage in writing. During the Anti-Japanese War, Yu Deling was involved in patriotic salvation movements overseas. She died in a car accident in Canada in 1944. Time passed, and in 2009, Gege Mansion welcomed a new owner, Ms. Zang Xiuyun. Born in Tianjin, Zang Xiuyun is a wealthy Hong Kong businessman.

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She invested heavily in the restoration of Gege Mansion and established the Tianjin Gege Mansion Museum, showcasing her collection of over 200 precious cultural relics, more than 30 of which were Chinese cultural relics repurchased from around the world. The cultural relics range from the Shang and Zhou dynasties to modern times, covering a wide variety and are truly astonishing. The museum is open all year round from 09:00 to 16:00.

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Additional information on preferential policies: 1. The above information is for reference only; please refer to the information disclosed by Gege Mansion on the day of your visit. 2. Children under 1.2 meters enter for free and must purchase tickets at the Gege Mansion site.

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