The former residence of Zhu Dachun is located on Bodugang Street at the intersection of Wuxi Ancient Canal and Bodugang. The entire residence is large in scale, exquisitely crafted in architecture, with obvious characteristics and considerable artistic value. After a century of changes, the main building of the house is still well preserved. Wuxi is the birthplace of China’s national industry and commerce, and many national capitalists were also born here. Zhu Dachun, who was born in Bodugang outside the south gate of Wuxi, is one of the important representatives. Zhu Dachun’s life is full of legends. As the first’red-topped businessman’ in modern Wuxi, his business acumen and patriotic sentiment are highly praised. Zhu Dachun took the steel industry and machine manufacturing industry as the leading industries, so he has always been called the ‘electric king’ and’mechanical king’ by later generations. He is an outstanding figure who has made great contributions to the development of industry and commerce in modern China. As a well-preserved former residence of a celebrity in the Qing Dynasty in Wuxi Qingming Bridge historical district, it is also a provincial-level cultural relic protection unit with a large scale among the former residences in the ancient canal scenic area of Qingming Bridge. The four-entry houses on the main axis of the former residence of Zhu Dachun were built in the Qing Dynasty. They are all hard-topped bungalows with three bays in width. Among them, the beam frame of the third entry is peculiarly made, with ruyi cloud patterns carved on it. There is a boat-shaped corridor in the front and a double-step corridor in the back. With lattice wooden windows and square bricks paving the ground, it is a typical merchant villa combining Chinese and Western styles, and also reflects the strong characteristics of families along the canal in the south of the Yangtze River. Through the pattern of three kirins playing with a ball carved on the drum-shaped stone in front of the former residence, one can know the prominent status of the house owner and his loyalty to the emperor and the court. Today, this is an important place for Chinese and foreign tourists to pay their respects and understand Zhu Dachun’s life and business social activities. It has also become an important historical carrier for modern people to understand the birthplace of Wuxi’s national industry and commerce.
Opening hours: Open all year round from 09:00 to 21:30. Supplementary note on preferential policies: 1. When booking scenic spot tickets online, there are currently no other preferential policies. 2. The above information is for reference only. For specific information, please refer to the disclosures of each scenic spot on the same day.
