In 1946 Zhou Enlai, the much-loved (although some swear he was even more sly than Mao) first premier of the People’s Republic of China, lived briefly in this former French Concession Spanish villa. Zhou was then head of the Communist Party’s Shànghǎi office, giving press conferences and dodging Kuomintang agents who spied on him from across the road.
Zhou’s age-old battered suitcase sits by his bed in the interior of this simple home, while a dormitory for his comrades and fellow communists can be found at the very top. Carry on into the charming garden and discover Zhou’s Buick in his garage (actually an imitation). For everyone but hard-boiled enthusiasts, the additional ‘Exhibition of the Shanghai Office of the Communist Party’ is worth skipping.
