Old houses in China's countryside are being dismantled and reassembled for the nation's new rich.

Very interesting article in the China daily talking about the resale market for Ming and Qing dynasty Chinese traditional homes which are disassembled, transported, repaired and then resold to restaurants, clubs or wealthy collectors.  Now this is an interesting topic which I could easily get lost in as it just touches on so many interesting elements from Hui Zhou architecture to Chinese antique restorations to wooden architectural carvings.

The article  is basically a slimmed down version of another Chinese language article floating around the net. Its not a bad article, though it leaves out some of the more interesting details like such as how the industry works.

For example, the middlemen buyers tend to be divided up amongst two categories: those with ample capital and those who as essentially un-financed. Essentially those who are “un-financed” will buy the house and resell it right away to recoup their investment at a 20 to 30% profit margin. “Financed sellers” are those who have enough spare capital to buy the house, undertake all the repair and restoration work and then resell it in restored form at a 40 to 50 % profit.

The other interesting aspect left out is detail on how much time and effort goes into the whole process.  One home took ten workers several weeks just to disassemble and haul away it away piece by piece in a dozen different large trucks. Quite a task considering each individual piece from support beams to wood carvings to stone had to be meticulously tagged and documented in order to be reassembled off-site. Before restoration can even start, a methodical checking of each piece had to be made to determine which wood must be replaced, which carvings repaired etc. Then there is the restoration and reassembly itself – a complex process involving carpentry, masonry, painters and wood carvers.

An old chinese courtyard home being reassembled and restored

What’s interesting is the trade has moved online as well, with websites listing both complete homes (in restored and un-restored form) as well as individual salvaged components like ornate wooden architectural carvings, brick carvings, stone and even reclaimed wood.

The China daily version is below – still a fascinating read. For the brave, here is also the more complete Chinese language version of the article.

Show homes
2011-07-28 08:02
By Xu Junqian (China Daily)

Old houses in the Yangtze River Delta’s countryside are being dismantled and reassembled for display in the gardens of the nation’s new rich. Xu Junqian reports.

At a hidden warehouse, on a vast expanse of open moorland in Dongyang, Zhejiang province (在(浙江)东阳市歌山镇西宅村), a group of middle-aged carpenters are busy working on a pile of pillars and corbels, beams and windows. Spread over the 10,000-square-meter clandestine locale that has no name or address – marked only by a muddy path – they have been carefully dismantled from century-old houses scattered throughout the Yangtze River Delta countryside.

Once reassembled, they will move into the gardens of the country’s nouveau riche.Tired of filling their working and living rooms with antique vases, ink paintings, calligraphy and 19th-century hardwood furniture, the emerging upper class is looking for something new to show off their wealth and cultural sensitivities.

And buying these quaint houses that date back to as early as the Ming (1368-1644) or Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, is becoming a popular choice.

The trend has been growing in the recent years, Zhang Zhu’an (张祝安), co-owner of the nameless warehouse site, says. “More people, including the not-so-affluent, are seeing them as an investment.”

These ancient houses can range from 300 to 400 square meters, with some even reaching 1,000 square meters. While they rival the size of the buyers’ homes, these collectors’ items are mostly for display.

Zhang, a 61-year-old Dongyang native, and his partner, the main investor of the warehouse, started the business three years ago. Although the carpenter-turned-businessman sidesteps questions about how lucrative the business is, he acknowledges it has been “acceptable” from the beginning. Now, they sell one house every two or three months.

The older the house, the pricier it gets, Zhang says. “But the style of the house, its condition or the status of its former owner – say he is a famous political figure – can also add to the value.”

With a team of about 10 carpenters, who double as porters, Zhang’s warehouse is the biggest of its kind in Zhejiang and possibly in the country.

Over the past few years, more than 10 houses have been relocated from remote villages to be reassembled and refurbished in the warehouse and then dispatched to the properties of affluent buyers in Hangzhou, Shanghai and even as far away as Beijing.

After restoration, this Qing Dynasty courtyard will sell for more then ten million RMB

Currently, there are nine houses here, some of which are ready to be “taken away”. Most are typical southern Chinese residences, featuring upturned eaves, elaborate woodcarvings and thick and straight pillars.

“This one is not that ancient. It dates from the end of the Qing Dynasty,” says a 49-year-old carpenter, surnamed Pan, referring to a door from a typical Anhui-style house, currently the most popular variety on the market, that he has been working on for five weeks.

“I heard the whole house was bought for several hundred thousands yuan. But this door alone can be sold for more than 10 million yuan ($1.55 million) after I’m done with polishing it,” Pan says.

There are about five or six similar warehouses in Dongyang, a city best known for its ancient craft of woodcarving, Zhang says. Just a few meters from his site is a similar, but much smaller, warehouse with four dismantled houses.

“People may think it is easy to start a business like this because of a huge supply of carpenters here,” Zhang says. “But good houses are becoming increasingly hard to find, as they have either been taken apart by collectors or demolished by their owners to make way for new modern buildings.”

Zhang says that while his special “hunting crew” travels the country looking for houses, he also networks with furniture recyclers and secondhand storeowners in the area.”If they come to know of someone who wants to sell his house, they will immediately call me,” Zhang says, adding that he only goes for structures that are at least 70 percent intact.

“For the province’s growing number of rich people, such houses represent the ultimate collectors’ item,” says Yu Feng, vice-chairman of Collection Association Club of Yiwu, the city neighboring Dongyang.

“After all, the vases, paintings and precious chairs need a place where they can be put. And what better choice than a heritage house,” Yu says.

The club, founded in 2005, has about 300 members in Yiwu. As the world’s largest small commodity center, it attracts hordes of the parvenus.

Every year, they host exhibitions to showcase their art collections. An antiques market that can accommodate 500 stalls also opened earlier this year.

“I can’t say how many people are doing this (collecting houses), as we don’t have such figures in the club,” says Yu, whose own collection includes five houses.

They occupy a 2,000-square-meter space that the logistics tycoon has specially rented.According to some industry insiders, a Yiwu businessman has 100 such homes from all over the country in his collection.”If you start early enough, you can get a house for no more than 50,000 yuan,” Yu says.But with more people entering the market, the average price has easily doubled.

By Xu Junqian (China Daily)

The profit for middlemen like Zhang has dropped from 50 to about 30 percent of the price.For Yu and others like him, the biggest headache remains finding a place for their house collections. “After all, it’s not that easy to buy land. And once you move a house, it’s not likely you can do so again,” Yu says.

But even as some worry about where to put their gigantic collections, others have found ways to make money out of them.
Zhu Youfu, a retired local official in Yiwu’s Fotang village has turned his collection – worth millions of yuan – into a tourist attraction in his hometown.

With a nearly 1,000-square-meter house built at the beginning of the 1800s and several other smaller ones, the site has become a recreational complex that also offers dining, accommodation and sightseeing.
Yang Handong, meanwhile, is more generous with sharing his collection.Yang is the owner of Hujiang Group, the country’s biggest thread producer, which is also based in Yiwu.

Apart from an underground museum that is home to 300 old vases and paintings located below the teahouse he runs, the antiques aficionado has also built a park behind his factory for his seven heritage houses. Admission is free to the public.

The purchase of old houses can be controversial.

Chen Rongjun, director of Dongyang Relic Protection Office, says that although it is legitimate to buy these houses not categorized as “relics under protection”, the houses, which are one of the few legacies of the local culture, become “dead” once they leave their original locations.

According to the local government, only 207 homes in the area are categorized as “relics under protection”, leaving 1,560 houses labeled as just “relics”, for not meeting one or another of the protection category standards.

“Homes with historical value are disappearing fast. More villagers are willing to exchange their homes for money to build new villas, and we are not there to stop them,” Chen says.But Zhang, the middleman, is defensive. “We are far more professional than the owners while dealing with these houses, which are usually in a seriously dilapidated state when they come to us,” he says.

“It’s true we are making money from them but not by tearing them down,” he adds. “Rather, we are restoring them to their former glory, which is definitely better than letting them suffer further wear and tear.”

Other online resources:

	The Hong Kong Heritage Museum’s exhibition of Huizhou vernacular architecture. There is a great book from this exhibition available at the museum shop, however I have never seen it for sale online.
	The Peabody Essex Museum’s “Yin Yu Tang” is a qing dynasty home on permanent exhibit at the museum. The home can be explored online via a very cool interactive guide.
	b2bgujian.com and szgujian.com are Chinese websites specializing in the sale of reclaimed and rebuilt traditional chinese homes (the sites are in Chinese only). The forum section is quite fascinating..
	A google image search in Chinese for Huishou style wood carvings.

This content comes from The specialists guide to Chinese antiques located at http://www.antique-chinese-furniture.com/blog/ For more articles please visit The specialists guide to Chinese antiques - A unique insiders peek at the world of Chinese antiques & reproductions, Asian culture, exotic decor and oriental-inspired design from the far east.

Related posts:

2. A to Z: Restoring chinese wood carvings, wooden screens and carved architectural elements.
4. The 47,000 USD dollar tooth brush holder – Chinese porcelain brush pot in owners bathroom sells at auction for staggering sum.
6. Carved wooden architectural elements salvaged from traditional Chinese homes gain a new lease on life…

Stowe Sprague was kind enough to send me these interesting photos on her blog from her visit to the Tulou region of Nanjing county, Fujian province.  During her visit to a temple in the town of Taxialou, she noticed the temple’s architectural wood carvings had been replaced with “politically correct themes” rather then the traditional Chinese motifs. Apparently in order to evade destruction during the height of the cultural revolution, its care takers replaced them with more “patriotic ones.”

This content comes from The specialists guide to Chinese antiques located at http://www.antique-chinese-furniture.com/blog/ For more articles please visit The specialists guide to Chinese antiques - A unique insiders peek at the world of Chinese antiques & reproductions, Asian culture, exotic decor and oriental-inspired design from the far east.

Related posts:

2. Law of the People’s Republic of China on Protection of Cultural Relics
4. A to Z: Restoring chinese wood carvings, wooden screens and carved architectural elements.
6. Beijing Field trip: Outdoor Wholesale Chinese Antique Market Tour

Unlike this one (above) which comes from Yunnan province in the far southwest. Notice the difference in style?

But I often find myself explaining to people what theses wood carvings were originally used for /where they came from.  So when I came across these model images of the  traditional method of joining these brackets and supports  together, I reminded me to get these photos finally uploaded.  Known in Chinese as “dǒugǒng” (斗拱), this unique structural system of interlocking wooden brackets places emphasis on supports rather then the walls themselves and has been in use in China for centuries.

The images of the wooden construction model below come from the Chinese History forum (which of course is a re-post from elsewhere). I have taken a few of them and combined them side by side with some real world examples. Fascinating how it all fits together in a splendid three dimensional puzzle of both form and function.

Some of these are double sided and sometimes retain traces of their original colors which one would hopefully want to preserve when restoring the carving.

The full set of images of a miniature model showing how a more complex version of the system works – this particular type can be easily found by looking at any larger well known structures in China like halls and temples.

For those out there assuming you can just take any old architectural elements and have a stand made for it, I offer a word of warning: each and every element is different and thus each stand or frame must be made to match and compliment the original style of the carving itself. Easier said then done and if the proportions are off the whole piece will feel clumsy and awkward.

Some before and after shots of reclaimed carvings mounted on stands…

If you want to dig in a bit more into the history of the architecture itself there are quite a number of decent books on the subject. A few suggested ones:

This content comes from The specialists guide to Chinese antiques located at http://www.antique-chinese-furniture.com/blog/ For more articles please visit The specialists guide to Chinese antiques - A unique insiders peek at the world of Chinese antiques & reproductions, Asian culture, exotic decor and oriental-inspired design from the far east.

Related posts:

2. A to Z: Restoring chinese wood carvings, wooden screens and carved architectural elements.
4. Traditional Chinese Costumes
6. Integrating Asian style furnishings: Practical ideas from real homes.

When a Chinese traditional homes is demolished  to make way for the new, elements like antique window screens, carved panels & screens and other architectural elements are typically salvaged to be reborn as decorative items in modern homes. Thinking about adding such a piece of history to your collection?  Here’s a quick look at the restoration process  from start to finish.

Before and after cleaning

1. Cleaning

A years of being exposed to rain, dust, smoke (and who knows what else), quite a lot of build up can occur, which must be carefully removed. While there are several methods used in cleaning, initial stages typically use water.  Depending on preferences, this process may be repeated several times, often using a small quantity of a gentle cleaner like hand soap or a touch of dish washing liquid.

Removing years of dirt

In Chinese, this process is often referred to as piāo bái   (漂白) which means “to lighten,” and details may emerge that were not evident under all the years of dirt.

Beautiful color emerges

2. Repairs to carvings

After cleaning, the second step is repairing some (or all depending on preference) damaged sections of the wood carving. Typically this involves scraps of the same or similar wood which are then pegged and glued over the damaged areas (known as bu mutou 补木头).  Once pegged and dried, the damaged sections can be carefully re-carved, sanded and detailed to match. Some people may prefer to re-carved/repair every minute detail. Others may choose to repair major damage only. Depending on the shape and structure of the carving other repairs to joinery may be required as well.

Repairing of damaged sections of carving

3. Touch-ups

After any damaged sections of the antique carving have been repaired, if the screen was painted, then replaced sections will need to be carefully hand painted to match the original color and style.

Retouching the color

4. Display in the home!

The final and most rewarding step… Options range from hanging or mounting to stands and even frames.

Display in the home

5. Learn More

I recommend you buy the book Chinese Houses: The Architectural Heritage of a Nation from Amazon.

Enjoy!

This content comes from The specialists guide to Chinese antiques located at http://www.antique-chinese-furniture.com/blog/ For more articles please visit The specialists guide to Chinese antiques - A unique insiders peek at the world of Chinese antiques & reproductions, Asian culture, exotic decor and oriental-inspired design from the far east.

Related posts:

2. Restoration of wood carvings & Screens
4. Restoring a Chinese mahjong table with a bit of pyrotechnics!
6. How to avoid cracking and splitting in Chinese solid wood furniture

No wonder customs is so difficult when it comes to exporting antique stone these days…..

This content comes from The specialists guide to Chinese antiques located at http://www.antique-chinese-furniture.com/blog/ For more articles please visit The specialists guide to Chinese antiques - A unique insiders peek at the world of Chinese antiques & reproductions, Asian culture, exotic decor and oriental-inspired design from the far east.

Related posts:

2. A look at this years international furniture trade fairs
4. ACF China appears on China Central Television’s “Culture Express” program
6. Law of the People’s Republic of China on Protection of Cultural Relics

This content comes from The specialists guide to Chinese antiques located at http://www.antique-chinese-furniture.com/blog/ For more articles please visit The specialists guide to Chinese antiques - A unique insiders peek at the world of Chinese antiques & reproductions, Asian culture, exotic decor and oriental-inspired design from the far east.

Related posts:

2. Guide to antique doors and antique door panels.

I was in the warehouse just a few days ago, looking over a batch of antique door panels which just came in and it really reminded me just how cool some of these pieces are, especially the iron hardware, the various textures, and the overall character and charm of these bits of history.

In the raw and just in…

You can see all shapes and all sizes come in from smaller doors from private homes, to huge double doors which look almost as if they came from the doors guarding a castle.

Restoration and cleaning them up.

Often the door frames may be badly damaged and need to be reconstructed. Supports or other missing sections are replaced in the same manner and construction as the original.

Here you can see damaged sections which have been replaced using old wood, in this case the bottom stretchers on the frame and a support for the lock in the back.

Once both structures of the doors and frames have been repaired the doors can be hung in the frames once more.

Finally, missing hardware will be replaced and wax or a clear coat of lacquer will be applied to the wood, with the end result similar to this solid wood antique door at asian-collections.

Salvaged as materials; a second life.

Sometimes doors are simply treated as salvaged wood and used as material. The frightening pace of construction in China, means that as people trade in their old Chinese traditional courtyard houses and hutong dwellings for new high rise buildings salvaged building materials abound and doors are no exception to the rule.

Uses in decorating, remodeling and construction

Essentially, these are architectural antiques and construction companies like this one (this one is named Demxx Deconstruction) are starting realize customers can incorporate these elements into their home and consequently, are beginning to import salvaged old doors for projects.

And then there is these two ideas for converting antique panels and doors which I came across on the blog of a lighting designer, and are absolutely brilliant. “Camouflaging a refrigerator with door panels” is by far one of the best ideas I have seen so far. Kudo’s to Sherwood Cox who created this particular kitchen!

There is no reason why this cannot be applied with oriental door panels as well. In fact, I have a friend who has done so in his place (unfortunately I have not taken any photos yet).

Or they can be built into your home or apartment like the owner of this spectacular home in Maui did by incorporating Asian influences. In order to enter the master suite, you need to pass through these antique Chinese doors which he imported from Indonesia. It looks great and an added value is, it increase the overall value of the real estate.

Conversion from salvage into beautiful furniture

Some people turn them into desks like this “do it your self,” Antique-Door Desk made with salvaged architectural elements and an old door.

The same idea has been applied here with a vintage door which have converted into dining table. This one from Asiatic Treasures, was created by building a base for a brightly painted Vintage Tibetan Door panel.

Tables made from old doors is not a new idea, and it works well for this old door dining table

Though they range from large to small, space seems not to be an issue with doors, as they are flat and lean nicely against the wall as seen in this smaller Bohemian boutique. “Old door” cabinets are an interesting “medieval sort of look” as well, even if this particular one in our reference catalog is made from a reproduction.

Any other good examples? Let us know!

This content comes from The specialists guide to Chinese antiques located at http://www.antique-chinese-furniture.com/blog/ For more articles please visit The specialists guide to Chinese antiques - A unique insiders peek at the world of Chinese antiques & reproductions, Asian culture, exotic decor and oriental-inspired design from the far east.

Related posts:

2. Trend Guide: Rustic furniture made from reclaimed elm and other salvaged woods
4. Guide to Chinese Furniture – Part 1) What is considered an antique?
6. Guide to Chinese Furniture – Part 2) “Converted” antiques

Reclaimed & salvaged materials are environmentally friendly in that there are no new trees cut down to make the piece. Sources of wood may be old railroad ties, beams from old houses that have been demolished or even old doors. Old elm tends to be a favorite as Elm in fairly common in China. Pine is also an option as well. Other woods are also used like cypress, walnut or beech though these woods are much less common and not available in large quantities.

Since the material has been aged it tends to be more stable then new wood (which must otherwise be kiln dried and chemically treated before it can be made to be stable). In essence, pieces created from salvaged materials are antique in a very unusual way – as the materials themselves have their own story, rather then the finished piece. Finishes are less of an issue to as rather then spend time carefully creating the right distressed finish, the focus is on the already distressed natural appearance of the wood. Construction is typically using the traditional methods of tongue/groove and Chinese joinery.Reclaimed wood furniture tends to fall within either one of following three classifications:

1. Antique / Vintage: Often these are antique farm items which have simply been given a clean up. In other cases they have been stripped down and their original finish removed. Often traces of the original finish & color remain giving each piece its own unique “hue.”
   1. 
2. Salvaged & Rebuilt: Old doors converted into tables tops with bases added are a good example of this. The prime element here is that a good portion of the piece is in fact antique and can be distinguished as so.
   1. 
3. New designs from old materials: These are basically new pieces built with primarily reclaimed materials and its for this reason that the line between salvaged and new can become a bit blurry. The dining table below from ACF China Co as well as the “Haider Natural” Dining Furniture from Horchow Collection & Four Hands are good example of this. The design on the Horchow table has clearly been updated for the western buyer as the bottom stretcher would not an original feature on a Chinese type of table.
   1. 

So, where is it reclaimed wood furniture being sold on the web? What are the popular looks?

Here are a few nicer examples:

“Haider Natural” Dining Furniture from Horchow Collection & Four Hands

Reclaimed Elm Table from Neiman Marcus.

Blue Wash Console Table from Wisteria

Reclaimed Elm Doorwood Coffee Table

From the The Olde Good Things Webstore. Looks so similar I wonder if it originally came from us?!

RECLAIMED WOOD FURNITURE from GreenTea Designs

Other nice pieces of reclaimed wood furniture out there?

Share them with us! Send them in or post the links here…

This content comes from The specialists guide to Chinese antiques located at http://www.antique-chinese-furniture.com/blog/ For more articles please visit The specialists guide to Chinese antiques - A unique insiders peek at the world of Chinese antiques & reproductions, Asian culture, exotic decor and oriental-inspired design from the far east.

Related posts:

2. Guide to Chinese Furniture – Part 2) “Converted” antiques
4. Guide to Chinese Furniture – Part 6) Custom Built
6. Guide to Chinese Furniture – Part 4) New Reproductions