Demolition of well-preserved shikumen stopped
Print Edition
THE demolition of one of the city’s best preserved shikumen buildings has been suspended, Huangpu District authorities said yesterday.
As the city plans to apply for UNESCO World Heritage status for its shikumen buildings, a team comprising political advisors and experts visited neighborhoods in several districts including Huangpu District over the weekend. During the visit, the team found many shikumen buildings with unique Shanghai features are being or will soon be demolished.
The building, located near Xintiandi, is nearly 100 years old and is being evaluated by experts even though most of the surrounding shikumen in the neighborhood have already been demolished.
“Every year architecture professors and students from Tong Ji University visit,” said Gao Ganxing, the owner of the house. “I’ve seen pictures of our house in many architecture albums, and even in newspapers in Australia.”
Gao, 77, told Shanghai Daily that his father, Gao Peiliang, an entrepreneur and philanthropist, bought the building and two adjacent ones about 70 years ago.
“The building was used as an elementary school during the ‘cultural revolution (1966-1976),’ when original features like the floor tiles were damaged,” Gao said, adding an architectural expert told him when filming a documentary for World Expo 2010 that his home is the best preserved shikumen in Shanghai.
The building is typical of the style, blending both Western and Chinese elements. The symmetrical layout is Chinese while the fireplace and beautiful stained glass are prominent Western features.
Gao said the living room ceiling is especially nice with a natural transition from Chinese beams and bricks to a Western embossing.
Gao and two of his seven siblings and their spouses now live in the building.
Apart from being well built, the shikumen remains in good condition partly because only Gao’s extended family has lived in it. The research team reportedly said many shikumen are rundown because too many tenants live in them, according to a xinmin.cn report.
A Huangpu District government official said an expert panel had been organized to evaluate the building, adding they are looking for the best solution on how to protect historic building.
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