Museums in Beijing are full of the flavor of this ancient city. They are windows for citizens and tourists to see the historical and cultural heritage of Beijing.

Lao She is a renowned Chinese writer. He was born and raised in Beijing, and he wrote about Beijing all his life. That is why Lao She has a reputation as the "cultural name card of Beijing." By visiting the Lao She Memorial, visitors can have a better understanding of this cultural name card.

The building of the Lao She Memorial is an ordinary quadrangle courtyard, where Lao She lived for 16 years and finished 24 works such as Longxugou and Teahouse.

This memorial has a wooden structure, and the whole courtyard layout is compact. The gate faces east, with gray tiles and a black door leaf.

Entering the first gate, visitors can see a brick screen wall. In the courtyard, there is a fish tank where Lao She raised fish and a bronze statue of Lao She built in 2009.

Inside the second gate, there is a wooden screen wall, which is rare in today's Beijing. Behind the screen wall, there are three main rooms in the courtyard. The ming room and west secondary room were living rooms, and the east secondary room was the bedroom and studio of Hu Jieqing, Lao She's wife. The west ear-room was Lao She's bedroom and study, which is now displayed with its original set.

The east and west wing-rooms are now turned into commemorative exhibition rooms. The object exhibition in the east wing-room and the life exhibition of Lao She in the west wing-room show the audience the life and career of Lao She through many precious books, photos, manuscripts, and cultural relics.

Location: No.19, Fengfu Hutong, Dengshikou West Street, Dongcheng District, Beijing

Translator: WEN Min 

Reviewer: TANG Yuxin