Push through the vermilion wooden doors at No. 11 Minzhu East Street to enter Changsha’s first Western-style parliamentary building. Built between 1913 and 1918, this 2,500-square-meter brick-and-wood structure merges Western architectural geometry with traditional Chinese flying eaves and painted beams. The 100-meter-wide facade forms a distinct mountain shape, anchoring the courtyard of the Hunan Provincial Federation of Trade Unions.

The walls hold the echoes of late Qing Dynasty constitutionalists. In 1911, speaker Tan Yankai severed his braided queue, transforming from a Qing official into the military governor who initiated this very construction. By 1922, lawmakers in the spacious rear auditorium drafted the Hunan Constitution, a bold experiment in provincial self-governance.

The structure defied the devastating 1938 Wenxi Fire. Its thick brick skin repelled the flames that consumed the surrounding city. In 1949, Communist propaganda minister Zhou Xiaozhou occupied a modest second-floor room, his presence marked by a simple bed, a desk, and a wooden washstand. By 1963, the building’s authentic Republic-era aesthetic drew filmmakers shooting the movie Nu Chao. Neighborhood residents' laughter briefly replacing decades of heavy political discourse.

Today, the 1953 renovations preserve the original timber framing. The grand interior halls remain intact beneath decorative ceiling lamps. Visitors walking the shaded paths of Minzhu East Street encounter a rare early 20th-century survivor, its painted beams still holding the weight of Changsha’s turbulent political evolution.