Government officials and preservationists have two locations in mind for the hall, which has stood for 400 years in southwestern Xuhui District on Meilong Road near Lingyun Road.

Cai Shunyuan with the district Cultural Bureau said district officials and preservationists favor moving the hall to Guangqi Park near Xu Jiahui in the district's central area, where Xu Guangqi, the renowned scientist of the Ming Dynasty, is buried.

Specialists believe that having the hall there will mean it will have more visitors.

Also under consideration is Kangjian Park in the district's southwest.

Experts said it is essential that the hall be moved because too many people living nearby means it is impossible to preserve and protect the house.

"Due to damage caused by nearby residents, the old building is on the verge of collapse," Cai said.

To move the house, it would be dismantled and rebuilt using as much of the original wood and building materials as possible, experts said.

If the original wood is too damaged to be used again, it will be replaced with the same type of wood, they added.

The hall is the former residence of a distinguished official surnamed Zhang, according to historical records.

The residence was a compound with three rows of houses and four stone lions squatting before a gate.

Now, only the main hall with an area of 270 square meters, about half the original area, remains, Cai said.

Another gate and enclosing walls were destroyed. The courtyard and the passageway were buried in soil 1.6 meters deep. Part of the wooden structure has rotted or been damaged by termites. Some of the carved designs on beams and archways are missing.

Cai said the building has a significant historic and artistic value with its exposed beams, exquisite carvings and the plain lines of the building all reflecting the style of early Ming Dynasty homes.

Specialists have finished their preliminary survey.

(Eastday.com 11/28/2000)