Sunday, December 22, 2013
Wan Qing Yuan 晚晴园 (aka Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall)
www.wanqingyuan.org.sg 19Dec2013
Located in the lush garden, is a sculpture commemorating Nan Qiao Ji Gong 南侨机工. Nan Qiao Ji Gong refers to the more than 3,200 overseas volunteer drivers and mechanics including non-Chinese from Southeast Asia who had responded to call to support China’s wartime efforts against the Japanese between 1939 and 1942. The Marco Polo Bridge Incident (卢沟桥事变 aka 七七事变) was a battle between China and Japan, often used as the marker for the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945).
After touring the museum, I feel proud
to be part of the Teochew Chinese community in Singapore, to have the grand
villa to enjoy and proud of the camaraderie and unity of people in Southeast
Asia to uphold justice & peace.
A beautiful, elegant two-storey Victorian villa built in the
colonial era in 1880s. It was originally
built by a businessman for his mistress and later bought by another businessman
(Teo Eng Hock 张永福) for his aged mother. The villa was renamed 晚晴园 Serene Sunset Garden. In 1906, Teo Eng Hock offered the
villa to Sun Yat Sen 孙中山 who used it as a base for Tong Meng Hui 同盟会. Tong Meng Hui was an anti-Qing Dynasty
revolutionary movement in 1900s and Teo Eng Hock was a keen supporter. In 1937,
six men (including philanthropist Lee Kong Chian 李光前) helped saved the villa which was in a
dilapidated states due to years of neglect. Singapore Chinese Chamber of
Commerce subsequently bought over the villa and Wan Qing Yuan is now a museum.
At Wan Qing Yuan, we could see photographs, artefacts and paintings which trace
the story of Sun Yat Sen and the contributions of Chinese communities in
Southeast Asia to the revolution.
Located in the lush garden, is a sculpture commemorating Nan Qiao Ji Gong 南侨机工. Nan Qiao Ji Gong refers to the more than 3,200 overseas volunteer drivers and mechanics including non-Chinese from Southeast Asia who had responded to call to support China’s wartime efforts against the Japanese between 1939 and 1942. The Marco Polo Bridge Incident (卢沟桥事变 aka 七七事变) was a battle between China and Japan, often used as the marker for the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945).
# posted by Mae @ 2:16 PM 
