No trip to Zhongshan is complete without a visit here. Born in this village in 1866, Sun Yat-sen went on to head the movement that overthrew the last remnants of the Qing dynasty in 1912. Visitors can gaze at the library that educated this future revolutionary, the kitchen that fed him, and the bed that cradled him. 

The Museum of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, consisting of the Former Residence of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, Cuiheng Folk House Exhibition and the Cuiheng Farming Exhibition, is a national protected cultural site to commemorate Dr. Sun Yat-sen (November 12, 1866 – March 12, 1925), a Chinese revolutionary and political leader often referred to as the Father of Modern China. Sun played an instrumental role in the eventual collapse of the Qing Dynasty in 1911. He was the first provisional president when the Republic of China (ROC) was founded in 1912 and later co-founded the Kuomintang (KMT) where he served as its first leader. Sun was a uniting figure in post-Imperial China, and remains unique among 20th-century Chinese politicians for being widely revered in both Mainland China and in Taiwan. 

The museum is situated in Cuiheng Village, where Dr. Sun spent his childhood and part of his youth. Seated against the hills and close to the sea, the museum is in a convenient location, with agreeable climate and surrounded by green trees, fragrant flowers and singing birds. Due to Dr. Sun’s great reputation, the museum has become a pilgrimage site in the hearts of people who admire him all over the world. 

The Former Residence of Dr. Sun Yat-sen 
The Former Residence of Dr. Sun Yat-sen is a distinctive two-storey building. Dr. Sun designed the building himself in 1892 and took charge of the construction. It possesses a Chinese style interior and a western style exterior. Dr. Sun lived here from 1892 to 1895, when he practiced medicine and engaged in revolutionary activities in the Pearl River Delta. He also stayed here for three days after he resigned from the presidency. As a result, there are many legacies about Dr. Sun’s childhood, his family, and his early education. 

The Former Residence is maintained exactly the same as the original look. In 1986, the Former Residence of Dr. Sun Yat-sen was ranked by the State Department “National Protected Cultural Site”. 

Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall 
It is to one side of the Former Residence of Sun Yat-sen and was built with the 40 million yuan raised by the municipal government and upon the approval of the State Administration of Cultural Relics. On exhibition here are the valuable historical photos and real objects reflecting the life of Sun Yat-sen. Equipped with advanced equipment, this is a modern multifunctional exhibition hall. The very clean, very new exhibition hall provides some truly fascinating insights into the history of Chinese nationalism and the character of Sino-Western relations, detailed in excellent English captions. 

On the first floor displays “Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Life and His Accomplishments”, providing a detailed and systematic introduction to Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s life story, deeds, personality, thought and theory and revolutionary activities under his leadership. The display is both academic and popular, paying a tribute to Dr. Sun’s great achievement in leading the people to overthrow the monarchy and establish the Republic of China. The display also introduces the main adherents to Dr. Sun’s revolutionary career. 

On the second floor is the exhibition of “Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Relatives and Descendants”, reflecting their great support and contribution to the revolution and their sacrifice for the revolution led by Dr. Sun. The second floor also has rooms for temporary exhibitions. 

Cuiheng Folk House Exhibition 
This exhibition seeks to educate visitors about the living conditions of various social classes by reconstructing family homes - the wealthy family’s home, the tofu-making home, and the overseas Chinese family’s home are all worth a peak. 

Cuiheng Village is the cradle of fostering the great revolutionist Sun Yat-sen. With a view of protecting the environment nearby, the Exhibition, taking advantage of the original folk houses and restoring by imitation part of the folk houses in Cuiheng Village, rejuvenates and displays the families of different social strata in Cuiheng Village at late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China. It also shows the colorful folk customs at Cuiheng Village and provides a three-dimensional reappearance of the life of different social standings at that time in Sun Yat-sen’s birthplace. Meanwhile, Cuiheng folk house exhibition presents a perspective of the folk customs in the regions around the Pearl River Delta. 

The Cuiheng Farming Exhibition 
The Cuiheng farming exhibition covers an area of about 40, 000 square meters, over 1, 650 square meters of which (locally called “Dragon Land”) was what Sun Yat-sen’s father once ploughed. The exhibition includes different zones of crops, rice-growing, poultry-raising, fish ponds surrounded by mulberries, modern agriculture, and farm tools, etc. 

At the exhibition, a lot of interactive activities are available for visitors to explore: the growth of over one hundred crops, rice-growing in spring and harvesting in autumn, over two hundred pieces of rice-growing tools (such as plough, irrigation mill wheel, wind cupboard, stone grinder and so on), poultry and livestock-raising. Agricultural ecology particular to the Pearl River Delta is also shown, such as the mulberry-based fish ponds and silkworm-raising. In contrast to the traditional agricultural art, visitors can have a glimpse of the modern agricultural technology like soilless planting.