Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall (Guangzhou)
# Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall (Guangzhou)

The Sun Yat-sen or Zhongshan Memorial Hall is an octagon-shaped building in Guangzhou, capital of China's Guangdong Province. The hall was designed by Lu Yanzhi and was built with funds raised by local and overseas Chinese people in memory of Sun Yat-sen. Construction work commenced in 1929 and completed in 1931. The hall is a large octagonal structure with a span of 71 metres (233 ft) without pillars, housing a large stage and seats 3,240 people.

## History

The memorial hall stands on the site of Guangzhou's Presidential Palace during the Constitutional Protection Movement, when the Nationalists operated a rival "Chinese" government to the Zhili Clique's Beijing regime. The palace was damaged during Ye Ju's 16 June 1922 attack on Sun Yat-sen, during which—though he had already fled—his wife narrowly escaped shelling and rifle fire before meeting him on the gunboat Yongfeng, where they were joined by Chiang Kai-shek. The hall itself has been severely damaged and repaired several times until 1998, when it was comprehensively upgraded to its present-day condition. A statue of Sun Yat-sen was erected in front of the main entrance.

## Transportation

The memorial hall is accessible from Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall Station of Guangzhou Metro.

