A watertown returns to its glorious past
about maintenance and added illegal structures. They were eager to move out when work began, Wang said.
During the restoration, workers found a stone tablet buried under a room of Sun’s home.
“We realized the room was an illegal structure built at the boundary of the two buildings,” Wang said. “It used to be a yard.”
Lack of historical materials made it more difficult to restore the buildings as they once were. The team could only guess the age and structural details of the original buildings from scant decor that remained.
Difference in the details
All decor, from beams to patterns on doors and windows, were restored by craftsman Chen Shenglin from Zhejiang Province.
“Machine-made materials are more efficient, but then everything looks the same,” Chen said. “Using my own hands, I can bring out the differences in details.”
Bright Life Property is now ready to restore the back yards of the three houses along the Sijing River, one of four waterways that originally created a flourishing commercial town and gave Sijing its name, which translates as “four rivers.”
“The backyards used to be the front doors of the buildings,” Wang said. “The buildings were used as shops along the river and people traveled by boat.”
A corridor once connected the backyards of the three buildings and stretched out for 1.5 kilometers, but it was blocked a long time ago.
Zhou Zhiguo, 78, who still lives in a riverside house his grandfather built a century ago, said he remembers the bustling market alongside the waterway. He said it reminded him of the famous Chinese painting “Along the River During the Qingming Festival.”
“Boats sped along the river as fishermen tried to be the first to bring their catches to market,” said Zhou. “I remember the noise of vendors peddling their goods and the laughter of people shopping.”
Many of Zhou’s old neighbors have left. Zhou said he used to rent three rooms of his house to grocers, but they, too, have gone.
“The houses are so old that everyone wants to leave,” said Zhou, adding he is also looking for an apartment in a residential community in new Sijing Town, which is only about 3 kilometers away.
According to Wang, Zhou’s house is among 39 historical structures earmarked by the local government for renovation in the next eight years.
Restoring old buildings to their original look, as much as possible, has become the prevailing concept of such renewal projects. Wang said when he first graduated from college 10 years ago, restoration of historical buildings was all about speed, and many old crafts were lost.
“Some people say why bother when anything built today will become historical in 100 years’ time,” said Wang. “But I think we should try our best to keep history as it was.”
Several months ago, a coffeehouse chain approached Bright Life and expressed an interest in renting one of the restored houses to open a new cafe. But Wang and his team want to turn the three buildings into a small museum showcasing local culture and history.
“Sometimes restoring old buildings is contradictory to commercialization,” Wang said. Renovation on three more buildings located on Kaijiang Road will start in October.