Protection project brings old town back to life

Supported by the fund for the Three Gorges Reservoir's follow-up work, the Zhongxian government launched a renovation project with a total investment of approximately 184 million yuan in the old town. The infrastructure has been greatly improved and many old houses have been renovated.

The area still boasts some traditional cob-walled, wooden-framed houses, though most of the buildings are made from gray bricks, which were widely used across China during the last century but are no longer produced. A stone city gate built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) is still intact.

While walking along the 1.8-kilometer street that crosses the old city, people born before the 1990s can easily witness childhood memories. Seniors still play card games on many street corners, a cinema that was built decades ago is still open, with the names of screening movies written in white chalk on a blackboard outside; and, there is also a bookstore that sells black-and-white picture books published in the last century.

On one corner, a timeworn chair sits in front of a mirror mounted on a gray brick wall. A modified bucket with a faucet at the bottom hangs over a table at an outdoor barber shop. The barber uses the modified bucket to wash the customers' hair. Open-air barber shops were once common in many areas across China, but they are rare now.

Large-scale demolition and construction were strictly banned during the renovation project, and all the repair work was done in a way that maintained the buildings' original appearances, said Fang Jianguo, head of Zhongxian's water resources department.