By He Linping, People’s Daily
Yongqing Fang, a historical street in Guangzhou, capital of South China’s Guangdong Province,
has taken on a brand new look and is increasingly popular among young people, thanks to the
“mini-transformation” program implemented by the local government to upgrade and renovate old
city.
Bruce Lee’s ancestral home near Yongqing Fang, which was built by Lee’s father Li Haiquan in
the 1940s, was renovated by the program.
While its previous architectural features were restored, the renovated residence is now a tourist
attraction where visitors can get a close contact of the ancestral home of the Kung Fu master,
watch clips of Lee’s movies, and experience orthopedics treatment of traditional Chinese medicine
in a newly-built martial art health center.
Enning Road centering around Yongqing Fang is a historical and cultural block covering an area
of 120,000 square meters. Boasting the most well-preserved Qilou buildings, or arcade-style
buildings in Guangzhou, the block had witnessed the convergence and prospering of traditional
culture and many folk handicrafts.
However, as the center of the city has moved eastward, buildings of the block were long neglected
and fell into disrepair. Surface of the roads were damaged, and the cables and
underground sewage network also became aged.
Even the once flourishing traditional culture and folk handicrafts faded, and most young people
started to leave the place for the outside world.
In 2016, Guangzhou put forward an idea of “mini-transformation”, which aimed to renew and
repair old buildings while maintaining the original structure and exterior of them.
Modern architectural elements were adopted to better the space structure and transform the
interior of the buildings, so that they can better meet the needs of modern activities.
The phase one transformation of Yongqing Fang was completed in October 2016, when the roads
had been newly paved with granite stones; the cables, once interweaving with each other
overhead, had been buried underground; and meadows and public spaces were also planned in
between of buildings.
The ancillary facilities, including community health service centers, drainage, illumination, fire
extinguishing and communication systems had also been drastically upgraded.
Li Yuqiong’s and her brother’s families have lived in the houses inherited from their parents for
six decades on No.20 Yongqing street. In the past, the street was troubled by poor road condition
and frequent traffic congestion.
Water gathered easily near their doors in rainy days, Li disclosed, adding that they had lasting
safety concern about the cables under the eaves whenever there was a thunder.
After the “mini-transformation” program was implemented, tourists started to visit the block in
droves. Therefore Li gave up the idea of moving out, and even started a stall outside her home to
sell traditional local snacks, such as beef offal with turnips and pig trotters stewed with ginger.
Sometimes she can make several hundred yuan a day.
What’s more, a once dilapidated residence across the way of Li’s house has been turned into a
fashionable café.
“It was more difficult to renovate such a building than to replace it with a new one,” a member of
the renovation team from China Vanke Co., Ltd., told the People’s Daily, disclosing that the
bricks in the walls were tailored to match the original color, and those with color difference from
the original ones were not used.
A carp-shaped outfalls on the roofs were restored, too, said the member, adding “They are the
characteristics of architectures in South China, though they are not necessarily functional now.”
The “mini-transformation” program was designed to remove the dilapidated parts and keep
people’s memories of the old buildings, for which meticulous efforts are required.
“It’s way better than large-scale demolition and reconstruction, as the original structure, features,
and spatial environment were maintained,” said Jiang Weihui, a researcher of the housing and
urban-rural development bureau of Liwan district, Guangzhou.
A movable-type printing shop beside the ancestral residence of Bruce Lee is now very popular
among the young people since its opening. Customers can have a go on the ancient printing
method in the shop and print their own names with the movable components at a cost of 20 to 30
yuan ($2.8 to $4.2).
Lai Zhaoyang, owner of the shop, has worked in printing and publishing industry for 20 years, and
opened the shop as he has always been fascinated by movable-type printing, one of the four great
inventions of ancient China.
He selected Yongqing Fang as the location of the shop because the street highly matches with his
idea of bringing the traditional technique back to life in the modern age.
“A block will lose vitality inevitably if it lacks young people,” said Ma Xiangming, chief engineer
of Guangdong Urban and Rural Planning and Design Institute.
From the perspective of urban development, a neighborhood gets old because industries and living
conditions there can no longer meet the needs of modern society, Ma said, adding that young
people will not return to old blocks if the businesses environment isn’t improved, no matter how
well the buildings are renovated.
The transformed Yongqing Fang is now the cradle for young entrepreneurs. The completed phase
one transformation project of the street has attracted 60 shops and businesses, including cultural
and creative shops, boutique home-stay hotels, light meal restaurants, and media companies,
becoming a popular base for young “makers.”
Today, Yongqing Fang has become a must-visit tourist spot in Guangzhou, with popular cafes,
cultural and creative shops, and home-stay hotels attracting a great number of young visitors.
Last year, the average number of visitors to the ancient street hit 3,000 per day during weekdays
and 5,000 on weekends at the peak time.
