Italian fashion house breathes new life into iconic garden villa

Members of the public can view the newly renovated Rong Zhai from now till Dec 17. PHOTOS BY GAO ERQIANG / CHINA DAILY

A historical garden residence in Shanghai called Rong Zhai has been restored by luxury fashion house Prada and Italian architect Roberto Baciocchi and is now open to the public. Due to the long queues of visitors waiting to view the house every day, the original one-month opening has been extended to Dec 17.

Located on 186 North Shaanxi Road, the heritage architecture was built in the years between 1899 and 1910. Its first owner was a German who left China after World War I. The next resident was Rong Zongjing (1873-1938), a wealthy businessman from Wuxi, Jiangsu province, who was often referred to as the Flour King of China. Rong purchased the mansion in 1918 and commissioned Chinese designer Chen Chunjiang to remodel the property.

Rong and his brother Desheng were the ones who started the flour business in their hometown in 1901. By 1936, the family had owned 21 factories in Shanghai, Wuxi, Hankou of central China's Hubei province and Shandong's provincial capital Jinan. The family, which also owned a successful yarn production business, was regarded as one of the richest in the country.

"When I was a child I always heard my great-grandfather talk about life in the house," said Rong Kangxin, a great-grandson of Rong Zongjing.

"He said the house was always used to host various events and parties for social elites, politicians, bankers and entrepreneurs. These people would gather in our home to have fun and talk about politics."

However, when the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression broke out across the country in 1930s, Rong moved to Hong Kong, leaving the house vacant for half a century.

In 2002, media tycoon Rupert Murdoch rented the house and turned it into the Shanghai office of News Corporation. The company occupied the property for nearly 10 years.

In 2011, Prada took over the residence. The fashion brand then engaged the help of Baciocchi, who was renowned for his expertise in historical architecture, to restore the property.