Antique wooden building finds its new life in Shanghai

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Want to escape from the intense heat and city noise? An antique and versatile bookstore might be a perfect choice.

Combining traditional design principles and modern decoration elements, a two-story historic Chinese building over 400 years old has been relocated and renovated into a bookstore that opened in Shanghai on Tuesday.

The interior courtyard of the Duoyun Ancient Academy in Songjiang District of Shanghai /Photo via The Paper

The Shanghai Century Publishing (Group) aims to make the building a landmark featuring Shanghai and south China cultural styles, said Wang Lan, president of the publisher.

At the opening of the store, the publisher put on an exhibition of 20 varieties of historical books and over 50 Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) calligraphy and water-painting masterpieces.

The Duoyun Ancient Academy in Songjiang District of Shanghai /Photo via The Paper

Four Hui-style (the traditional architectural style in east China’s Anhui Province) wooden structures were dismantled into parts and moved from Anhui Province and east China’s Jiangxi Province, obtaining a new life in the metropolitan city.

A corner within the Duoyun Ancient Academy /Photo via The Paper

With carved patterns on wooden doors and pillars, the axisymmetric building covering 1,600 square meters was reconstructed to its original look in Guangfulin, an archeological and cultural protection site in the Songjiang District of Shanghai, where artifacts over 4,000 years old have been unearthed.

Books on display within the Duoyun Ancient Academy /Photo via The Paper

Named Duoyun Ancient Academy, the bookstore has a small pond, a green pine tree and cloud design patterns in the interior courtyard. Designed in a Ming-Dynasty architectural style, it embraces well-furnished modern facilities offering visitors a comfortable experience.

There are numerous rows of bookshelves and lecture rooms on the first floor and the upper floor will host exhibitions and salons with some special areas for private talks and tea tasting.

One of the tea rooms within the Duoyun Ancient Academy /Photo via The Paper

The past decades have witnessed the significant transition among bookstores, from offering a single service of selling books to colorful cultural space for more dialogue and interactions to attract more young visitors.

The bar area within the Duoyun Ancient Academy /Photo via The Paper

The Duoyun Ancient Academy can be a bridge linking young generations and traditional culture thanks to the preserved ancient masterpieces and diverse cultural activities.

(With inputs from Xinhua and The Paper)

(Cover photo: A cloud design patterns symbolizing "Duoyun" (a piece of cloud in Chinese) in the interior courtyard of Duoyun Ancient Academy in the Songjiang District of Shanghai /Photo via The Paper)