1:26 North Gate of Mount Lu, No. 180 Hedi Road. This villa was built in 1903 and originally belonged to Mrs. Herli, a British national. In 1933, it was transferred to her good friend, Soong Mei-ling. Chiang Kai-shek, appreciating the serene environment of this villa, named it "Mei-Lu" after the character "Mei" from his wife's name. 17:00 Departing Yangzhou onto the Ning-Tong Expressway towards Nanjing. The architectural structure of Mei-Lu is a blend of Chinese and Western styles. A man pretends to be a toll collector directing parking on a no-parking zone. The main building has two floors plus a basement level, with very delicate and tasteful window and door arrangements. Entering the main building via the staircase, on the first floor there is a reception room and Madame Song’s living quarters. The reception room contains photographs of the Jiang and Song families' life on Mount Lu as well as three watercolor paintings depicting Fenghua Xikou Town, Nanjing Xuanwu Lake, and Mount Lu — these being the three places most cherished by the Jiang-Song couple throughout their lives. As the only villa in Chinese history that housed the highest leaders of both the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, Mei-Lu has witnessed countless historical events! Perhaps without the marriage of Jiang and Song or the convening of the Mount Lu Conferences three times, it would have remained just an ordinary old villa. Entering Guling Town, the sparse streetlights in the rainy night do little to illuminate, only lighting up the dense raindrops. The small roads in town are steep and narrow. Despite repeated attempts using GPS, we were unable to locate the reserved inn. Helplessly, we called the inn and had them send someone to pick us up... It wasn't until past two in the morning that we finally got to bed. The large terrace on the second floor offers an excellent view, with a glimpse of quiet and lush deep mountains and forests. There are two rattan chairs on the terrace; it is said that during Zhou Enlai's visits to Mount Lu for meetings with Chiang Kai-shek, they once sat here facing each other, reaching important agreements on united resistance against Japan. 0:40 Ascending Mount Lu via the Beishan Road. Looking at the courtyard, it retains the flavor of English gardens: stone walls, lawns, paved paths, and white fences... Moistened by the drizzle, the trees and grass are refreshingly green, while the fragrance of Yulan flowers permeates the air, making breathing both humid and refreshing. 19:50 Turning onto the Hu-Yu Expressway outside Hefei towards Anqing (driving 250 kilometers). In the middle of the courtyard, there is a stone house which was originally Chiang Kai-shek's guardroom but now serves as a shop selling Mount Lu tourism books and souvenirs. At the back of the courtyard, there are facilities such as a spring well fountain, cold bath pool, and air raid shelter. 14:50 Mei-Lu. Waking up exhausted at eleven in the morning, since we were planning to stay another two days on the mountain but dissatisfied with the conditions of the inn, we switched to Taiji Hotel by Lulin Lake, where the surrounding forested environment seemed quite pleasant! Photography inside Mei-Lu is prohibited according to regulations, but I managed to take a few pictures when the staff weren't paying attention. The first one is a plaque of an Electrolux refrigerator originally produced in Sweden, which uses kerosene for cooling; the second one shows specially made porcelain tableware for Chiang Kai-shek from Jingdezhen; the third picture depicts Chiang Kai-shek's bedroom and reception room. During the Mount Lu Conference, Mao Zedong also resided here and held Politburo Standing Committee meetings. 0:16 Jiangxi Jiujiang Bridge (driving 300 kilometers). To be continued, more pictures stored in the space album… Amidst torrential rain at midnight, driving carefully along the dark, winding, misty Beishan Road for over forty minutes, we finally arrived at the North Gate of Mount Lu. There was no one at the ticket office; knocking on the glass, we waited for some time before seeing a sleepy-looking duty officer. The entrance fee was 180 yuan per person, 60 yuan per car, allowing unlimited duration of stay on the mountain without additional charges for the vehicle... Guling Town is, after all, a small town, yet it has all necessary facilities. The entire courtyard is planted with many valuable flowers and trees, most of which were personally arranged by Soong Mei-ling. Around the villa, climbing vines and American trumpet vines grow all the way to the roof. Whether looking at the villa from the outside or looking out from within, everything is immersed in lush greenery. Before liberation, Mount Lu was known as the "Summer Capital" of the Nationalist Government, and Mei-Lu became the "Presidential Residence." During those years, Chiang Kai-shek enjoyed recuperating quietly, receiving guests, and summoning military and political officials at Mei-Lu. After liberation, Mao Zedong and many other leaders lived here multiple times… thus elevating Mei-Lu's fame. On April 19, 2009, Sunday. Jiujiang Bridge felt rather dilapidated, with chaotic traffic on the bridge and rudimentary highway toll booths. Mount Lu is beautiful, historically renowned for its extraordinary beauty. Besides majestic peaks, valleys, forests, and cascading waterfalls and clear springs, Mount Lu also features hundreds of old villas built at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Although mostly constructed by foreigners, these old villas are closely tied to countless famous figures and politicians in modern Chinese history. Actually, if we had continued southward on the Chang-Jiu Expressway, there would have been a dedicated exit leading directly to the South Gate of Mount Lu, much quicker and more convenient than our route around half of Jiujiang City through the Beishan Road with its 396 bends. The downside is that the South Gate is farther from Guling Town on the mountain.