Why is Chairman Mao Zedong’s Villa special
Located at the scenic bank of East Lake in Wuhan, the villa of Chairman Mao Zedong was once a retreat house for Chairman Mao and other ruling members of the Politburo. Consisting of Meiling Buildings One, Two and Three, the villa offers a quiet ambiance and great relief for Mao. Meiling was Mao's summer villa where he lived for a long time and often visited many times. It was open to the public in the early 1993. The attractive scenery of tree-lined footpath, dense grove, flying songbirds, and Chairman Mao's favorite pines, bamboo trees and plums seen everywhere, is undoubtedly an ideal place for relaxation.
Meiling is now a very hot tourist spot for many to recall the great man’s experiences of his late years and get glimpses of the great leader's historical life.
Chairman Mao Zedong’s Villa Highlights
Meiling Building One was Chairman Mao's private residence where he ate, slept, wrote and conducted numerous daily national affairs. It has a bedroom, a sitting room, a reception room and a formal dining room. He received many celebrities and foreign friends, including President Richard Nixon and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger of the United States of America in 1972. The dining room is highlighted by a restful scenic painting of trees with dark gray foliage, soft colored flowers and a gentle orange sun, with its mix of plum carpeting, red tablecloth and emerald green crushed velvet armchairs. The same grey covered chair where the great leader sat is still there, but rather faded and frayed now. The chair and lamps are still in the same position as they were 27 years ago. The bedroom was furnished with plain fifties furniture with a pink and white patterned chaise.
Meiling Building Two, the assembly hall, has a huge lobby cloaked in heavily worn curtains. The lobby is open to public, while the hall with its hundreds of red upholstered chairs facing the stage is cordoned off. On the balcony, there is a wicker chair placed in a certain position as was placed in the past, with a framed photograph hanging next to it.
Meiling Building Three houses Mao's private indoor swimming pool. It is about the same as most competition-sized pools. It is lined with tiles with stainless steel ladders, and underwater lights. There are nine floor-to-ceiling tinted windows, which Mao could see through during his daily swims.