Mei Garden (Mei Lanfang Memorial Hall)

Located opposite the old street of Taizhou by the canal, there is an ancient and beautiful manor, which is the ancestral home of the Peking opera master Mei Lanfang, known as Mei Garden. Mei Lanfang's grandfather, who joined the Hui opera troupes to Beijing, was one of the Thirteen Greats of the Tongzhi Era and an active Peking opera artist in the capital. Mei Lanfang was born in 1894 in Beijing's Tieguai Xie Alley. His grandfather was one of the founders of Peking opera, and his father and uncle were both famous dan (female role) actors, a typical family of the Pear Garden tradition. From a young age, Mei Lanfang learned the art from his uncle and extensively studied the performances of various roles such as flower dan and warrior dan. At the same time, he absorbed modern artistic expressions and innovated in the performance of hands, eyes, and dance, creating a new form of performance art known as 'flower robe' for the Qingyi role, which caused a sensation in the Peking opera circles of the capital and made him one of the four great dan actors. After the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, Japan invaded China and occupied Beijing. Mei Lanfang refused invitations from the puppet Manchukuo government and the Japanese, choosing to stop performing. He even injected himself with a cold vaccine to induce a fever, refusing to perform for the Japanese, demonstrating the noble spirit of a patriotic artist. In Mei Garden, the 'Four Wonders' are most worth seeing. The Mei Pavilion is one of the wonders of the garden; the second wonder is a large half-body white marble statue of Mei Lanfang; the third wonder is the artistic image of Mei Lanfang as Yang Taizhen in 'The Legend of Lady Yang' in the middle of the pool outside the exhibition hall, also made of white marble; the fourth wonder is a giant stone stele inscribed with the lyrics of 'Treading on the Green Grass' written by Mr. Zhao Puchu during his visit to Taizhou. The Mei Lanfang Memorial Hall's historical exhibition area is divided into five sections: 'Mei Blooms Across China', 'Mei Fragrance Throughout the World', 'Mei's Unyielding Spirit', 'Mei's Virtue Like Jade', and 'Mei's Roots in Taizhou'. The five exhibition areas condense and refine Mei Lanfang's brilliant life belonging to China, the world, and Taizhou, reflecting his noble character and patriotic sentiments, as well as his deep connection to Taizhou. The museum uses modern multimedia means such as sound, light, electricity, and film to display cultural relics, pictures, objects, and materials related to Mr. Mei, and visitors can also listen to Mr. Mei's beautiful singing.