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Historic house renovated as museum in Minhang
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A 98-YEAR-OLD residential complex near the Huangpu River’s north bank in suburban Minhang District has reopened as a museum.
The 510-square-meter former private residence of Xiang Zhenfang, a top matchstick manufacturer and son of Xiang Wenrui, famous educational official during the late Qing Dynasty (1644–1911), consists of two two-story buildings and a bungalow boasting a blend of Chinese and Western styles.
It was built in 1917 and expanded in 1935 with blue bricks as in traditional Chinese buildings, but its main building features western style with a central part and two wings, as well as glass windows, wooden shutters and a tall porch with two pillars.
Its ownership was transferred to the government when the family left Shanghai after the establishment of new China, and was named a cultural protection site by the district government in 2000.
But it went into disrepair until two years ago when the Minhang Real Estate Group invested 5 million yuan (US$788,000) to restore it to its original appearance and reopened it yesterday as an exhibition hall.
Historical pictures and works of literature, furniture and other household, industrial and commercial articles, such as tables and chairs, bottles and rice measuring vessels, as well as poems by late local poets and introduction of famous local characters, are on display, giving visitors a glimpse of history of the old Minhang Town, now the Jiangchuan Road subdistrict.
“It was important for us to repair the complex as it was the only old residence left in the neighborhood after all other buildings on the original business streets of the old Minhang Town were demolished to construct new buildings,” Zhang Naiqing, a native cultural protectionist and initiator of the repair project, told Shanghai Daily.
“It’s not only a witness to our history, but also a reminder for us to properly protect our cultural legacy,” the 65-year-old added. “And as an exhibition center, I hope it will get more attention from the government and the public to further preserve it in the future.”
A neighborhood official said the old Minhang was the first town in Shanghai and used to be a prosperous center for commerce, and also boosted restaurants, tea houses and clinics.
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