Lao She was the pen name of the writer Shu Qingchun (1899-1966), an enormously influential critic of the decadence and corruption of pre-revolutionary China who is best remembered in the West for his novel Luotou Xiangzi (translated as Rickshaw Boy). Among his many other important works were The Yellow Storm (about life under Japanese occupation), The City of Cats (a novel of political satire with a Martian theme) and a play entitled Tea House. After 1949 he continued to write on political themes in support of the revolution. He died (either by suicide or murder) in 1966 after being denounced during the ''Cultural Revolution''.
The Lao She Memorial Hall is on the site of the courtyard residence which he bought when he returned to China from the United States in 1950. Among the displays are cultural mementos and items from his writing desk, copies of his works in various editions, and his unfinished autobiographical work, Under the Pure Red Flag.