White walls and black tiles, alleys, and deep courtyards… The Historic and Cultural Block of Fufushi, the library of Feng Mengzhuan, a famous modern book collector and a bibliographer in East Zhejiang, along the Yongshou Street, is one of the most well preserved historic and cultural blocks in Ningbo.

A working staff’s posting notices along the Yongshou Street. (Photo/ Xin Zhicheng)

In the afternoon of July 5, the working staff was posting notices along the Yongshou Street, informing the residents that the working group is to carry out household survey for record from July 8 to July 25, manifesting that the long-awaited project on treatment of houses in the Historic and Cultural Block of Fufushi starts.

As is introduced by the person in charge of the treatment of houses in the Historic and Cultural Block of Fufushi along the Yongshou Street in Haishu, the block is located in Wenchang Community, starting from Xiaowen Street in the east and Shangshu Alley in the south to Wenchang Street in the west and Xihe Street in the north, with historic buildings of Xiaowen Street and the former residence of Tu Yong included. The whole block covers a total area of about 7.8 hectares, involving houses of more than 600 households of more than 30 thousand square meters in total.

Within the block, there is the “Fufushi”, a Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Spot, covering a total area of about 11 thousand square meters, and 31 historical buildings of 14 thousand square meters large on No. 65 Xihe Street. On the basis of previous researches, the working staff is to start household investigations since July 8, mainly on the locations of houses, registered house owners, the area of the houses, and information of household members and so on, for better treatment of the houses for the next step.

Seeing that the working staff’s posting notices, Zhang Juxian, an 82-year-old lady living in the house on No. 45 Yongshou Street, shed her tears of excitement. “Finally, the day is coming! I’ve lived in the house for more than 60 years. Every time it rains, it's common for the house to leak.” Zhang Juxian said. With the construction of the nearby subway and the development of the surrounding real estate, the terrain here is getting lower and lower.

Every heavy rain, the house is flooded. The house is damp and moldy. The living condition is too poor. Aunt Zhou, a neighbor of Zhang Juxian, was extremely happy as well, saying: “I’m 67 years old. Our 3-member family has been living in this house of 40 square meters large for 40 years. There’s no washing room in the house so we have to pour toilets across the street every day. Now thanks to the favorable policy for the treatment of the houses, we’re all very excited.”

So, what’s the next step to improve the Historic and Cultural Block of Fufushi along the Yongshou Street? As is learnt, in 2014, Ningbo publicized the conservation plan of the Historic and Cultural Block of Fufushi along the Yongshou Street to collect suggestions and listen to people’s feelings and opinions. On November 16, 2017, the Planning for the Protection of the Historic and Cultural Block of Fufushi was approved by the Zhejiang Provincial People’s Government.

According to this Planning, the Block is to be developed into a living community with profound cultural atmosphere, not only able to display culture, present cultural activities but also integrated with leisure and business activities. Historical buildings within are to be classified for relevant protections. For example, the protection of historical buildings shall be based on courtyards and shall not be relocated or demolished without authorization; on the premise of not changing the appearance of buildings of traditional styles, it is allowed to improve the internal structure and facilities.

More on the Block

On the Ningbo Urban Purple Line Planning, a total of 8 historic blocks, including the Moon Lake, Gulou Park Road, Tianfeng Pagoda of County Temple, the Catholic Church on Waima Road, Xiushui Street, Fufushi on Yongshou Street, Yujia Alley and Nantang River Historic Block, are circled in purple lines.

The Historic and Cultural Block of Fufushi is the one of the most well preserved historic and cultural blocks in the time-honored urban area of Ningbo, the concentrated embodiment of the traditional historic features in the old city of Ningbo. The prominent clans in the neighborhood have lived together for generations. It is the representative of Ningbo’s settlement system and residential culture. In March 2013, Ningbo Municipal Planning Bureau entrusted Shanghai Tongji Urban Planning & Design Institute Co., Ltd. to compile the Planning for the Protection of the Historic and Cultural Block of Fufushi; on September 30, 2014, the Measures for Treatment of Houses in the Historic and Cultural Block of Fufushi was approved by the Executive Meeting of Haishu District People’s Government; on November 16, 2017, the Planning for the Protection of the Historic and Cultural Block of Fufushi was approved by the Zhejiang Provincial People’s Government and the approval was publicized on November 17, 2017 and covered by major newspapers in Ningbo.

The Historic and Cultural Block of Fufushi embodies the unique historic and cultural values of the collection culture in the old city of Ningbo and the inhabitation of prominent clans. This block boasts a large number of celebrities of past dynasties and their former residences. Since the Song and Yuan Dynasties, noble and famous families have all built houses here, making the block the cluster of officials in Ningbo. High walls, open courtyards, black tiles and garden windows all reveal the characteristics of Ningbo's inhabited and flexible dwellings. They are living specimens of Ningbo's local traditional features and Ningbo's history and culture. Fufushi, the library of Feng Mengzhuan, a famous modern book collector and a bibliographer in East Zhejiang is the interpretation of Ningbo’s regional culture of “a city of culture and a gateway to the world”.