Treat Restoration as a Research Project

Cultural relics restoration projects should incorporate research into the heritage of the site, said an expert. 

Recently the deputy director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, Song Xinchao, claimed that if heritage protection is counted as just a construction project, such work would not be done properly. He suggested that instead, any restoration project should incorporate research into the heritage of the site, to work out aspects such as how the original structure was built, or what unique value a particular building has, as reported by Shanghai-based news portal The Paper.　　

Every case is different, Song added, and researchers must make a customized plan before each job, rather than hand over the project to a construction team without any preparation. More needs to be done to plan better use of the buildings after they have been restored. It means any restoration should be with a view to daily life and original design.