Six immovable cultural relics in Jiading district have been repaired since last year and more are under maintenance and restoration, according to the Jiading Museum.
It is part of the district's efforts to protect cultural heritage in the face of rapid urbanization. Jiading has registered 71 immovable cultural relics during the third national census of cultural relics in 2012.
The projects that have been repaired include Lu family’s residence in Jiading Industrial Zone and the ancestral hall of Shen’s family in Jiangqiao town.
The Lu family’s residence was built in 1877 and purchased by the family in the 1930s. The two-storey house occupies an area of about 200 square meters. It is the only ancient residence architecture in the district that kept the "oyster shell windows", the unique window screens made by oyster shells.
Like most of China's ancient architectures, the Lu family’s residence was built of wood and brick and susceptible to weathering. Due to long years of being scorched by the sun and battered by winds and rain, the main building tilted westward, the walls cracked and beams broke.
From last November, the district cultural relics management committee started repairing the house. The restoration maintained the old look of the house, from bricks covering the floor to brick carvings on the doors.
The ancestral hall of Shen's family was built in 1916 as a vacation villa of the family. The hall combined advanced concrete technology and local traditional architectural styles. It is the only place that combines both Western and oriental brick-concrete structures in Jiading.
The hall used to be a school and then a factory workshop. You can still find old bullet holes and revolutionary slogans on the surface of the walls, maintaining its historical appearance. After the whole project completes, the hall will open to the public as a showroom displaying furniture from late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) in regions south of the Yangtze River.