Former Residence of Xu Feiping

Built by Xu Chuncao and owned by Xu Wenma, the site was the former residence of Xu Feiping. Xu Wenma lent the building to Xu Feiping's father Xu Xuzhong for the family to live in. With a square plane, the main body of the building is three floors with part of it being four and each floor shares the same layout. It is 17 meters in breadth and 22 meters in depth. The main entrance is set in the southeast with two-floor-high colonnades. The second floor can be reached from the outdoor overbridge. With an eclectic architectural style, the twisted classic Western pilasters take control of the entire exterior wall of the eaves. The part below the walls was built with granite-dressed stones and the part above with reinforced concrete of rail-shaped. The upper and lower floors in the front elevation are set with connected arched corridors with changing styles of arched concrete windows on the two sides. The columns are ancient Greek-style Ionic concrete columns with complex decorations such as Western geometric patterns. The entire building adopts walls of pilaster and the rose color, looking quaint, solemn and glamorous. Born in Kulangsu, Xu Feiping (1952-2001) was an overseas Chinese pianist in the United States. Xu Feiping, one of the three sons of the Xu family, gave a public performance at the Kulangsu Trinity Church at the age of 6. When he was 8, he went to Shanghai and learned from Fan Jisen, Director of the Department of Piano, Shanghai Conservatory of Music. He also had performances in Shanghai in the following year. After the "Cultural Revolution", he became the chief solo pianist of the Central Conservatory of Music. In 1979, he won a scholarship and studied at the Eastman School of Music in the United States and turned to study at the prominent Juilliard School the next year. His professor believed that he was the most accomplished student of the Juilliard School in 20 years. In 1983, he won the gold medal at the Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition, the competition with the longest history in the piano circle. The "New York Times" and the "Washington Post" regarded him as the "international star in piano". On the evening of November 27, 2001, he suffered an accident and died on his way from Harbin to Qiqihar.