Visitors standing outside of the former residence of Ruan Lingyu.

The former residence of famous Chinese actress Ruan Lingyu opened to the public on Friday, World Museum Day.

Located in an old alley in Shanghai, the three-story building was once the home of Ruan Lingyu and her mother. It was on March 7, 1935, in this house that the actress killed herself.

To mark World Museum Day, local government officials held a culture-themed tour, allowing citizens to visit residences of many famous people in the city's Jing'an district. The residence of Ruan Lingyu was one of the destinations.

It is the first time the house has been opened to the public.


Ruan Lingyu is remembered as one of China's greatest silent-film actresses. Sadly, at the tender age of 24 she committed suicide by taking an overdose of sleeping pills, brought on by the pressures of a public life.

I dont know her...but just want to say i find it very sad that celebrities commit suicide because of pressures of a public life...very sad =(

Ruan Ling Yu (or Yuen Ling Yuk, or Nguyen Linh Ngoc) is the silent-star siren that Maggie Cheung Man Yuk played in the self-titled movie, Yuen Ling Yuk (The Actress aka Centre Stage).
Tony Leung Ka Fai, Chin Hon, Lawrence Ng, Carina Lau were also in it.

dont tell me the same clothes from 70 years ago are still hanging outside that building, or just trying to be more realistic

never heard of this actress.
actresses from way back tend to commit suicides it seems
well, it still happens but it seemed to be frequent in those days

Wow, I think that this actress is very pretty, it is soooo sad that she had commited suicide.!!!