BORN in Hangzhou, American missionary John Leighton Stuart loved China, becoming a founder of Yenching University in Beijing and US ambassador to China. His house still stands, as Xu Wenwen discovers.

On Yesutang Lane in downtown Hangzhou, next to Tianshui Christian Church, a two-story Chinese-Western building stands distinctively among the residential block. A statue of John Leighton Stuart in front demonstrates this is his former residence.

American missionary Stuart, first president of Yenching University in Beijing and later US ambassador to China, was actually born in Hangzhou on June 24, 1876, of Presbyterian missionary parents from the United States. He even grew up speaking fluent Hangzhou dialect.

Last November, the ashes of his bones were interred in Anxianyuan Cemetery in Hangzhou. The close historic ties between Stuart and the city have made the local government determine to preserve the two buildings - his former residence and the church - closely associated with him in Yesutang Lane.

His former residence and adjacent Tianshui Christian Church, where his father John Linton Stuart preached from 1875-1913, have been listed under the Historical Building and Relics Protection Program by local government.

The two buildings will be protected while the Baijingfang Lane where they nestle will be renovated completely. Tianshui Christian Church has just undergone a complete restoration between March and September.

Right behind the bustling Hangzhou Intime Department Store, Yesutang Lane is a narrow old thoroughfare that dates back to the Song Dynasty (960-1279).

Stuart's boyhood home was built in 1878, covering a land of 4,138.5 square meters, including the church, a school and a residential quarter for missionaries. The church survived, but the missionaries' houses were demolished, with the survivor being a two-story house here Stuart lived for over 10 years.

Regrettably, all his furniture disappeared over the years.

The children of Philip Fugh, who was Stuart's personal assistant, donated some of Stuart's belongings to the museum in 2006, consisting of calligraphy and paintings by celebrity friends and students, as well as books and daily items used by him.

Stuart described his years in Hangzhou in his memoir "Fifty Years in China - The Memoirs of John Leighton Stuart, Missionary and Ambassador." He didn't set foot in the United States until the age of 11, when he went to school in Virginia.

In 1908 he became a professor of New Testament literature at Nanking (Nanjing) Theological Seminary.

In January 1919, Stuart founded Yenching University in Beijing and became its first president.

He quickly turned the institution into one of the top universities, and in the school's 33 years of existence, it produced 56 academicians.

Stuart kept visiting Hangzhou throughout his life, and his parents and a brother were all buried in the city's Jiulisong Cemetery.

Stuart was appointed US ambassador to China on July 4, 1946, and visited Hangzhou in October that year to accept honorary citizenship awarded by the municipal government.

He wrote about the experience in his memoir:

"A diverting and pleasant experience at this difficult time was an invitation from the Mayor of Hangchow (Hangzhou) to visit the city of my birth, I was given an official reception and the customary feasts but more than that a very real and hearty welcome by government, civic and educational organizations and also by many old friends. I accepted all this not as a tribute to me personally but rather as an evidence of deep and sincere friendship for the American people, a friendship which I am sure will not be destroyed through this period of misunderstanding and estrangement in official Sino-American relations. I was greatly touched at the end of the visit to be given honorary citizenship of Hangchow by the Mayor."

Stuart's legendary life was so involved with China that although an American by nationality, he considered himself more Chinese than American.

Stuart was expelled from China on August 2, 1949, and formally resigned as ambassador on November 28, 1952.

Stuart left China with deep regret and a sense of helplessness, suffering a stroke four months later.

His old age was relatively poor because he donated most of his money to the church. His only source of income was a US$600 monthly pension from the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia.

Thanks to his personal assistant and companion Fugh, he was taken care of in America until he died.

In the memoir, Stuart wrote: "During the days of my twilight consciousness ? Philip Fugh has taken care of me and my needs with a completeness, efficiency and devotion that words cannot describe."

On September 19 1962, Stuart died in America. His final wish was to be buried in China at Yenching University with his wife Aline Rodd, who was buried there in 1926.

Despite decades of attempts by Fugh and his offspring, his wish hasn't been realized. Rodd's tomb and ashes can't be found because of the university's infrastructure construction before the 1960s.

However, his remains did get to rest eventually in Hangzhou, where Stuart was born and bred. On November 17 last year, Stuart's ashes, which had been preserved by Fugh's family, were interred in Anxianyuan Cemetery in Hangzhou - 46 years after he died.

On his gravestone, there are only very a few words in both Chinese and English:

John Leighton Stuart

1876-1962

First President of Yenching University

"It's simple and enough," reckons Shen Jianzhong, the writer of "Walk into John Leighton Stuart" and "John Leighton Stuart and West Lake."

"Stuart's life can be divided into three periods - working as a missionary, an educationist and a diplomat. He spent his main efforts and 27 years of his life in being a teacher, initiating and managing Yenching University. That's his biggest feat."

Former residence of John Leighton Stuart

Address: No. 3 Yesutang Lane

Opening date: Tuesday-Sunday