The red-roofed and White House-like villa, now used as Xiamen Museum, is one of the landmark buildings in Xiamen. Integrating traditional Doric (陶立克式) and Ionic (爱奥尼克式) architectural styles, the house has become an architectural representative on the island.

It was built in 1907 (the 33rd year of Emperor Kuang Hsu's reign in Qing Dynasty) and designed by American Dutch Dr. John Abraham Otte (郁约翰), who integrated the Pakistani, Chinese, Greek and Italian architectural styles.

The famous house is said to be often haunted by a "ghost" with long hair on the backyard lawn.