The Mei-ling Palace, located on the top of Xiaohong Hill in eastern Nanjing city, was once the home of China’s former president Chiang Kai-shek and his wife Soong Mayling before they fled to Taiwan in 1949 at the end of the Chinese civil war. For decades, the building was kept as a state guesthouse and closed to the public until two years ago, when the villa was renovated and its doors thrown open to the public. From the air, the house resembles a giant emerald and the landscaping around it looks like a pendant and necklace. According to local rumors, the house was built as a birthday gift by Chiang for his wife Soong Mayling, and was designed that way as a symbol of love between the couple.

Photo credit: cctvnews