Island of charm and challenge

Unique experience

The exhibition space was designed by 26-year-old Ma Qirui, a postgraduate student of the School of Architecture at Tsinghua University.

The son of an architectural consultant, Ma grew up wanting to be an architect because he feels that architecture embodies a strong sense of fulfillment. "You create a blueprint, and the resulting building can stand for generations. I used to think that was romantic," he explains.

When Ma actually became a student of architecture, though, he discovered that for most architects, the work is far more tedious than he'd imagined.

Ma believed that architecture is best taught through case-based learning, where one learns by studying projects, and he was eager to find opportunities to design something outside of the classroom. So, when he was offered the chance to participate in the show, he didn't hesitate.

Ma found the idea of building something from scratch both attractive and challenging, and since joining the show, he has been renovating old island homes, doing interior design for the aforementioned restaurant and designing a small auditorium for tourists to photograph.