Memorial of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China

The Memorial of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China (中共一大纪念馆, Zhōnggòng Yīdà Jìniànguǎn) is a museum in Xintiandi, at 76 Xingye Road in Huangpu District. It is built around the former houses where the party’s first national congress met in July 1921, and it also covers the party’s early history. Visitors should plan ahead, because entry has been run on a reservation system.

The original buildings are two adjoining two-storey shikumen houses, at 76 and 78 Xingye Road, which were then 106 and 108 Wangzhi Road. Chinese Wikipedia dates them to around 1920 and says they were rented by the brothers Li Hanjun (李汉俊) and Li Shucheng (李书城). They are brick and timber, with outer walls of alternating blue and red brick.

According to Chinese Wikipedia, the congress was held from 23 to 30 July 1921. Its first two days were at the Bowen Girls’ School at 389 Bailu Road. The sessions then moved to 106 Wangzhi Road, and the meeting was stopped on the evening of 30 July after detectives of the French Concession found it. The room used for the meeting was the sitting room of Li Hanjun’s home. It now holds a long Western-style dining table and 12 round stools, arranged in the style of the meeting; the furniture is a replica.

The site was identified in 1956 as the ground floor of 76 Xingye Road. A memorial was set up in 1952, formally opened to the public on 29 June 1961, and has had free entry since 10 March 2008. The site was named a Shanghai municipal protected site in 1959 and a national key protected site in the first batch, on 4 March 1961.

A new memorial building began construction on 31 August 2019. The Congress Square opened on 1 May 2021, and the new Memorial of the First National Congress opened on 3 June 2021, with a main exhibition of 612 items. CGTN reported at the time that the memorial has more than 3,400 square metres of floor area, occupies renovated century-old shikumen buildings and displays some items for the first time. Other press coverage gives different figures for floor area and relic count, so treat these numbers as approximate.

Practical details need checking. Reports from 2021 describe a real-name reservation system, using a WeChat mini-program or at the site, and opening from Tuesday to Sunday. Xinhua reported in June 2026 that the museum received nearly 100,000 foreign visits in 2025 and has English signage, multilingual guided tours and commentary, but we found no official page on whether foreign visitors can reserve with a passport, or on current hours. Check with the museum before you go.