A visit to the ancient buildings and relics of the former Italian Embassy

Shi Guangliang

N o 1 Taijichang Street， south of East Changan Avenue in Beijing， is the office address of the Chinese Peoples Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. It was originally the location of the Italian Embassy in the late Qing Dynasty （1644-1911） and the early Republic of China.

At first， in the eighth year of the Tongzhi Emperors reign （1869）， Italy set up its diplomatic residence at the northeast corner of the intersection of Jiangmi Lane and Taijichang Street， transforming some private houses. After the Boxer uprising， it moved its embassy to the present location， adjacent to the former Austrian and British embassies.

The main entrance to the CPAFFC faces east with two red brick gatehouses with hipped roofs facing each other from north to south. Between them are two iron door leaves with ornamental designs. In 2001， the former site of the embassy was declared a state-level cultural protection unit.

Inside the Senior Cadres Activity Center （former reception room）

After entering the main entrance， we saw the senior cadres activity center on the left. This two-story building facing north was originally the reception room of the old embassy. After the staff opened the middle room on the ground floor， we were immediately struck by the magnificence of the Islamic-style decoration. The Hall of the Fragrant Royal Concubine in the legend finally presented itself to us. There are large mirrors on four walls of the hall. The Arabic couplets on the corner pillars were so delicately written that the characters resemble flowers. Later， I asked three different friends of Hui minority group to identify the words. They consulted different imams and told me that the scriptures were part of the 99 Names of Allah， commonly found as decorations in Muslim buildings.

The top of each mirror is framed by a gourd-shaped wooden structure in Islamic style， which must have taken much labor and time to make. A pillar stands in the middle， supporting the golden ceiling at what looks like the Zaojing， a recessed panel in traditional Chinese buildings. The upper part of the pillar is divided into three layers. The first is like a lotus petal with patterns； the second is like a side-byside partition window， each with a pattern； the third is the carved scripture.

Inside and outside of Friendship Hall， Embassys official residence； former residence of Rewi Alley.

Opposite the reception room is the Friendship Hall on the right side of the main entrance. This two-story building was originally the official residence of the ambassador. It became the residence of Rewi Alley， an internationalist， in Beijing after 1949.

Inside the lobby， two huge mirrors stand on the sides， each having a number printed on the frame. It is said that the mirrors came from the Old Summer Palace.

A remodeling project was underway， so we could only get a glimpse of the rooms on the first floor. The floors in the rooms are paved with wooden tiles.

Western area of the courtyard

As we proceeded west， we could see the original church facing east. It is a single-story building with a red brick masonry roof and four sloping tile roofs. Its door， windows and eaves are made of gray-white stone.

Southeast of the original church， there stands a two-story building which used to be the main building of the embassy， facing north. Due to its ample depth， the building has doors on the east， west and north sides leading to the outside. The exterior wall is also made of red brick， the window covers and eaves are made of stone and the curved windows in the basement are decorated with iron-cast floral patterns.

It is worth mentioning that there is a larger square in front of the main building， with a bronze lion on each side of the north entrance. The one on the east side is a female with a playful cub under her left paw； the one on the west is a male lion with a hydrangea under his right claw. Inscriptions were clearly visible as we pushed aside the greenery around the pedestal： It was made in the Jiaqing Emperors reign of the Qing Dynasty.

According to the records of the Illustrated Gazetteer of Eastern Beijing， this pair of bronze lions came from the Old Summer Palace. But there are also anecdotal accounts that they are from the Chanfu Temple in Beihai Park， with postcards of the year written in Italian as proof.

Other relics

On the eastern side of the main building， there is a paved path to the east gate of the courtyard. Standing in the path are two white marble piles carved with wavy patterns. After initial recognition， I thought these two stakes were originally the upper parts of balustrades of some ancient architecture， with very clear moire.

West of the original church， there is still an old brick wall running north and south. Beyond the wall is the territory of an institution other than the CPAFFC. Its very quiet up here since very few people come. We ambled along the wall to the south but found ourselves at a dead end and had to turn back.

Walking by the old wall， we found some words engraved on the bricks. For example， the words on a lower part read： “Made by Sun Jie for Laizhou Prefecture”. Words right to it read：“Made by Liu Hu in the first year of Chongzhen Emperors reign of the Ming Dynasty.”

We assume that a large number of old wall bricks， such as those from the Ming Dynasty， were used in the construction of the embassy. After the Qing， almost all the walls and gate towers of the Ming and Qing dynasties disappeared over time. Using old wall bricks here is also a kind of relic protection.

Going to the north of the courtyard， we could still see the remains of the north gate of the former embassy. According to a map in The Records of Beijing during the Republic of China period （1911-49）， this gate leads to Ital- ian barracks. Although the gate is now blocked and impassable， the square columns on both sides and the remains of the sentry box with eaves beside the west column could still be seen. Under the north gate there is an incense burner that was moved here from elsewhere with various stone components scattered around.

West of the north gate， a relatively long protective wall of gray brick texture with shooting holes and a number of semicircle arched doors under the holes is retained. I immediately thought of the duty rooms of the East Six Palaces of the Forbidden City and wondered if they were also used by guards in the past. Today， as a cultural relic， this place is surrounded by glass baffles and protected by eaves.

Time flies. 120 years have passed and China in the new era has become stronger and more prosperous. As we record what we see and hear at present， we will continue to move forward while cherishing the memory.

（The author is a member of the Beijing History Research Association.）