Liu Ruilu moved into the Wukang Building in 2006.[Photo provided to China Daily]

Zhou Bingkui, who moved in in 1956 when he was 6 years old, says: "Although the building was designed nearly a century ago, it catered for modern living needs, including a room for a nanny, the kitchen and storerooms."

It was taken over by Shanghai Municipal Government in 1953, when it was renamed Wukang Building, and in 1994 the building, in which about 140 households live, was listed as a city-level historical building.

Contribution

Chen says the residents impressed her team with their interest in the project and with how they went out of the way to help.

"To shoot movies we set up large video cameras and lighting in their rooms and most interviews lasted for a whole afternoon. What shone through was that all these people are outstanding members of the community who feel it is their duty to make a contribution to the building."

One driving force in her own efforts in the project is the fact that she grew up in the area, she says.

"Different communities in Shanghai have strong individual characteristics, and I reckon that if you ponder someone's facial expressions for a while you can work out which community they come from. The former French Concession community is one of those with a very strong cultural inheritance."

Chen says she is heartened by the fact that more than half the 64 streets in Shanghai in which widening is permanently banned are within the former French Concession because they bear so many of the city's stories.

Li Kan, director of the administrative office of Hunan sub-district, says the strength of city renewal lies in a community's collective memory and outlook, and as the administrator of the area, the sub-district feels duty bound to keep alive the memory of the 100-year-old community.

"Often enough you can read in books about this brick or that tile that went into old buildings, or see them in museums, but only through the narratives of those who have lived in a building at different times can you produce an accurate history, one that is complete and one that the general public can relate to.