Da Yu Memorial Hall in East China’s Zhejiang Province photo:VCG

 
The Da Yu Memorial Hall in East China’s Zhejiang Province held a forum on Monday to showcase the newly-built modern pavilion and discuss the conservation of ancient Chinese buildings.
 
Dong Danshen, chief architect at the Architectural Design Research Institute at Zhejiang University and the architect who oversaw the design of the memorial hall, shared his thoughts on the memorial hall at the forum.
 
 “The building itself is a way of presenting culture. It is where I hope the Chinese spirit can be seen and felt while walking through the hall,” said Dong.
 
He indicated that the design strikes a balance between tradition and modernization in order to achieve a “sense of harmony.”

Architects and design experts from Tsinghua University and Peking University, as well as the vice mayor of Shaoxing, also took part in the forum.

The memorial hall, a newly-opened museum located inside the Da Yu Mausoleum in Shaoxing, is dedicated to Da Yu, or Yu the Great, a king famed for his flood control efforts in ancient China. 

While controversy exists as to whether Da Yu is a historical or legendary figure, according to ancient Chinese historical records he was the first king of the Xia Dynasty (2070BC-1600BC) and was buried in Shaoxing.
 
The hall, some 28,000 square meters in size, is divided into a ground level floor and an underground floor to represent the traditional connection between “Heaven, Earth and Man,” according to Dong.
 
The hall, completed in around 300 days, opened to public in November 2020.
 
“The construction of the hall has successfully provided Chinese people around the world with a place to find and appreciate our culture,” said Song Yana, a manager with the Shaoxing Dayu Development Investment Cooperation, a culture and tourism company.

Global Times