Gardens where the Party bloomed

Teyuan Garden

About 300 meters away from the Guiyuan Garden, the Teyuan Garden is located in No 35 Jialingqiao East Village at the end of Zhongshansi Road.

The Chinese Democratic Parties' History Exhibition Hall in the Teyuan Garden tells the story of how the Communist Party of China forged close partnerships with other political parties to build a better future for the people.

The hall was built on a section of the Teyuan Garden, the residence of Xian Ying, one of the founders of the China Democratic League, which served as a popular political meeting place in China's temporary wartime capital.

A large sculpture in the center of the lobby, titled Mao Zedong in Chongqing 1945, vividly recreates a scene where Mao, Zhou, leaders of other political parties and celebrities gathered and discussed national affairs.

Apart from the CPC, there are eight non-Communist parties. Chongqing was the birthplace of three of them: the China Democratic League, the China Democratic National Construction Association, and the Jiusan Society.

The garden is made up of two connected three-story buildings which were built on a hillside. It covers an area of about 2,000 square meters with a total of 36 rooms. The three-story, gray-brick Daguan Building is the main building, with gardens both in the front and at the back, as well as some auxiliary structures.

The Teyuan Garden, known as the "home of democracy", served as an important place for the Southern Bureau of the CPC Central Committee to carry out its united front work in Chongqing. During the Chongqing Negotiations, Mao met over 100 people in order to unite all possible social forces and establish a wider united front for China's peaceful development.

In May 2008, the Chinese Democratic Parties' History Exhibition Hall was built based in the Kangzhuang residence, a part of the Teyuan Garden.

In March 2011, the hall was opened to the public after rebuilding and expanding.

The site, with exhibition halls on four floors, covers an area of more than 12,000 square meters and houses more than 3,000 historical pictures, 1,200 artifacts and 1,000 other exhibits.

As the first exhibition hall in the country themed around China's democratic parties, the museum exhibits the history of eight of them and comprehensively displays the formation and development of the system of multiparty cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the CPC.

Opening hours: 9 am-12 pm, 1 pm-5pm (Tuesday to Sunday)

Entrance: free