Bas Wu, an overseas Chinese in Belgium, and heritage building revitalization designer, took No.92 Longmu Temple Street as the first renovation case.
Instead of going with the usual expensive major renovation, he found a low-cost way to revitalize old overseas Chinese houses. By improving the restoration methods on-site, they've significantly brought down the renovation costs, so even ordinary owners of overseas Chinese houses can afford to repair their ancestral properties. Nowadays, this building serves both as his office and his daily residence.
Following No.92, another overseas Chinese house in this area has been given new life. The restoration of this whole old house cost just over 200,000 yuan. It's another proof that revitalizing overseas Chinese houses on a low budget is entirely feasible.
Currently, along the street-front stretch of Longmu Temple Street, Bas has taken on seven connected overseas Chinese houses to develop them into an integrated commercial space.