At the entrance of the building.[Photo by Gao Erqiang/ China Daily]

Memories

Like the Hunan sub-district, there are 11 other historical conservation areas in the city. Han Zheng, Party chief of Shanghai, says that it is a weighty responsibility for this generation's urban managers to take all the right steps to safeguard and perpetuate the city's spirit and the memories that go with it.

"In Hunan-subdistrict alone, which covers only 2 square km, there are many outstanding examples of architecture in various styles that have been built over the past 100 years," Han said in May when he visited the subdistrict. "Many have been home to outstanding artists, educators, doctors and authors who have made great contributions to the city and to the country."

Sha Yongjie, a member of the Wukang Building project and professor at the College of Architecture and Urban Planning of Tongji University in Shanghai, says that for architectural aesthetics alone the Wukang Building is of great value.

"The gate of the building is inconspicuous, which is a show of modesty to its surroundings. However, the lobby on the first floor is spacious, as a show of respect to the residents."

Protection

In old communities there has been a push for shikumen, or stone-framed gate houses, to be given protection because they represent an architectural style seen nowhere else in the world.

There were more than 9,000 shikumen complexes in Shanghai when the construction of such houses ended in 1949, and about three in four local residents lived in these red-roofed terrace houses, which also served as factories, banks, newspaper offices and schools, according to municipal records.

Just 173 such complexes escaped being torn down and remain intact in the city, and few hold a city-level historical building status, most being beyond the scope of regulatory protection.

Feng Xiaomin, director of the cultural and historical data committee of the city's political advisory body, says: "It is understandable that some of the dilapidated old complexes need to make way for high-rise office buildings and malls as Shanghai continues to develop as a cosmopolitan financial center, but that does not mean decision makers should be ruled by the logic of giving priority to land development at the expense of these legacies."

In February, a group of the city's political advisers suggested that an application be made to have the iconic houses that once formed Shanghai's most typical residences put onto the world heritage list.

Contact the writer at zhouwenting@chinadaily.com.cn

zhouwenting@chinadaily.com.cn