Introduction |
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On 22-7-1930 the newspaper “Het nieuws van den dag voor Nederlandsch Indie“ published an article called “A millionaires boulevard! New palaces in Bandung” great plans.
At the same time as this article was published the constuction of the villa which would later be called Villa Mei Ling was in full swing. According to this article:
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On this postcard one can see how the hills north of Bandung since the 30's of the last century is dominated by two buildings namely Villa Mei Ling (on the right) designed by F.W. Brinkman and Villa Isola (on the left) designed by Charles P. Wolff Schoemaker. Villa Isola is well known, but even the historical role of Villa Mei Ling is unknown.This story is written to nullify this omission and to make this villa more known to the general public |
About the architect F.W. Brinkman we could find the following article: |
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In the “Commemorative album of the period 1918-1930“ by the Algemeen Ingenieurs- en Architectenbureau (AIA) it is stated: “The Algemeen Ingenieurs- en Architectenbureau (AIA bureau) was regarded as a large and well-known architect company in the Dutch East Indies with its own construction company. It was established around 1916 in Batavia (Jakarta) by the former BOW architects F.J.L. Ghijsels (1822-1947) and H. von Essen together with the contractor F. Stoltz. The company extended in 1927 with an establishment in Surabaya. In 1932 followed an office in Bandoeng, under the supervision of architects F.W. Brinkman and G.H. Voorhoeve with whom architectural firm AIA entered into an association." |
Below you can see Villa Mei Ling, just after the completion of the building in 1932 from various points of view (Photos from the photo album of Lucy Kan the eldest daughter of my grandfather H.H. Kan). |
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Also some photos were taken by my parents in 1935. |
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On the first and last photo my parents are on a terrace or balcony of Villa Mei Ling. In the background of the first and fourth photo is the pavilion where aunt Hilda, third daughter of H.H. Kan lived. | |
This villa is named after the wife of the at that moment president of the Republic of China, General Chiang Kai Shek namely Mei Ling Soong (Sung). |
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......click to enlarge | |
Villa Mei Ling is situated between the Lammingaweg presently Jalan Sangkuriang and the Dr. de Groot weg, presently Jalan Siliwangi. |
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Exterior and Interior of Villa Mei Ling |
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My grandfather Hok Hoei Kan (H.H. Kan) and his brother Han Khing Bie (K.B. Han) could not have suspected that the building by architect F.W. Brinkman would play such an historical role. |
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Their purpose was a beautiful villa with a splendid view on a cool spot away from hot Batavia. |
What is left of the interior nowadays was photographed by my brother during his visit together with my sister to Villa Mei Ling in 2001. |
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To accentuate the Chinese character of Villa Mei Ling some Chinese panels were integrated into the walls. |
After the marriage of Princess Juliana and Bernard, Villa Mei Ling was inspected by several governmental departments their purpose was to use it as a place to stay when the married couple would visit the Dutch East Indies. Because of the increasing threats of war this visit was cancelled. |
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One of the Ming vases with Cicilia Kan, second daughter of H.H. Kan |
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The wall screen in eight parts on the occasion of the wedding of Hilda Kan, third daughter of H.H. Kan with Jesse Sung, son of the Chinese Consul in the Netherlands Indies. Their daughter from this marriage was also called Mei Ling. |
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Behind the table on the 3rd photo more wall screens. |
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Also it was said that there was a cinema in the cellar and a swimming pool (according to Tan Eng Swie) | ||
In the photo album of Lucy Kan there are indeed some photos of a swimming pool. According to her daughter Tan Bie Giok you could reach the swimming pool via a large stairway. |
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click to enlarge | click to enlarge | |||
There were also photo's of my father in and my brother Sioe Lee near the swimming pool. |
In the garden of Villa Mei Ling is a very prominent and large pergola in the form of half a circle. This pergola can still be seen on Google Earth. |
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On the above photo's is aunt Hilda, her daughter Mei Ling and my brother Sioe Lee near the pergola. |
History of Villa Mei Ling |
Villa Mei Ling was built during the years 1930-1931. |
In 1942 the Japanese troops landed on Java. Batavia was declared open town on 5th March 1942, which meant that all high officials left Batavia and the Stadswacht (civil defense) had to submit to the Japanese who conquered Batavia without one gunshot. And because lieutenant general H. ter Poorten had declared Bandung a “not to be conquered fort” the high officials and military withdrew to Bandung. Also Governor General A.W.L. Tjarda van Starkenborgh Stachouwer (7-3-1888 – 16-8-1978) and his adjutant H.J. van Mook went to Bandung. |
As from 8th of March 1942 Villa Mei Ling was a sort of concentration camp for high officials. |
After the capitulation of the Japanese my grandfather and his brother did not retrieve Villa Mei Ling, but instead the Supreme Commander of the English forces took residence. When this English staff left Villa Mei Ling, they took 34 lorries full of art and antique objects from Villa Mei Ling as being “war booty”, even the Art Deco door handles were taken. Protest by the Dutch East Indies government did not yield anything, because the English were “the liberators”. |
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After the transfer of Sovereignty in 1949 again Villa Mei Ling was not transferred to my grandfather and his brother but to the Indonesian Military Forces. |
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This building is nowadays used by the psychological service of the Military Force of Republic Indonesia (Dinas Psikologi AD) http://www.dispsiad.mil.id/index.php/en/2013-02-18-13-54-04 . |
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The outside of Villa Mei Ling was photographed by a friend of my sister in 1988. He was not allowed by the military to enter the building. |
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In 2001 the outside of Villa Mei Ling was also photographed by my brother. Today with street view of Google Earth one can get an impression of the present day look of the outside of Villa Mei Ling. |
In 2001 |
In 2018 |
Conclusions Villa Mei Ling was witness to several historical events.
Thanks to all family members who have provided information and the Dinas Psikologi A.D. (Dispiad) for their permission to photograph the interior. |