SH101 is an ongoing column on SmartShanghai, in which our writers actually visit tourists destinations in Shanghai we've all heard about, ignored, driven by, or thought about going to but never did. Until right now.

Shanghai was a hot target for mobilizing members in the early 20s, so Mao paid a lot of visits here early on. His former crash pad was at the end of quiet alleyway off of Maoming Lu. Today, it's about the only lane house still on this block. It's surrounded by apartment towers and convenience stores. Odds are, you’ve walked by it and not even realized it.

Walk in, though, and you’re immediately treated to a bit of kitsch. Just to the left is the bedroom, where you’ll see the future ruler of 1/5 of humanity at his desk, probably studying a Marxist tract or something like that.



Meanwhile, his first wife Yang Kahui tends dutifully to the kids.



The rest of the space is pretty straightforward – a small vestibule and a kitchen, both furnished, presumably, with replicas. The real meat of the exhibit, though, is the upstairs museum illustrating Mao’s life in Shanghai. If you're looking to find epic revolutionary tales of the same magnitude as the Long March or Yan’an, you’ll probably be disappointed. Other than being one of the original signatories of the first Communist Party charter, Mao's exploits in Shanghai were rather mundane -- lots of studying, bureaucratic tasks, organizing labor movements, politicking with the KMT, publishing propaganda pamphlets. Probably the most interesting thing he did here was organizing against a warlord in his home province of Hunan. The exhibit also highlights meetings he had with fellow cadres and some formal send-off of for some students on their way to France for a foreign study program. If you’re a scholar of the official history of the CCP, I’m sure you'll find this stuff fascinating. If you’re just a curious dilettante, however, most of it will be lost on you.

It seems the curators of the site are somewhat aware of the dearth of interesting material at their disposal, too, because they keep repeating these events throughout the exhibit. Nevertheless, there are a few interesting artifacts on display, like this manuscript.



It’s a letter in which Mao describes his experiences in Shanghai to a friend. That’s his signature off to the left. And say what you will about the guy, at least he had pretty penmanship.

By the time you get to the second half of the upstairs exhibit, they’ve clearly run out of material relevant to his stint here. So the rest of it is just pictures of the Chairman on official visits to state-owned factories, shaking hands, and kissing babies. But there are a few cool little holy relics, like these cigars that he supposedly smoked.



And here are his trousers…



There is also a small exhibit on his eldest son, Mao Anying, who died in battle during the “War of US Aggression” in North Korea. His wife, Liu Siqi, donated a handful of earth from the place where he allegedly met his maker.



She also donated this.



The “Anti-Fascist Medal of World War II” awarded to him by the Soviets.

So is it worth a visit? Sure. It’s convenient -- right in the center of town. The exhibit will take, at the most, 45 minutes to walk through, and you’ll come out with a little more knowledge of China’s political history. Not only that, it’s free. Why not?

The former residence of Mao Zedong is on Maoming Lu, near Weihai Lu. You’ll find it in an unnumbered lane between lanes 118 and 120. It’s open Tue-Sun, 9-11.30am and 1-4.30pm.

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