Nightclub must undo re-do of landmark Whampao Military Academy building
- Source: Global Times
- [02:54 March 04 2010]
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By Zou Le
A Guangzhou nightclub has been ordered to restore the original appearance of a landmark military academy building after the club owners gutted the interior and did a modern make-over to attract new customers.
Authorities in South China's Guangdong Province ordered the owners to undo the damage they did to the historic Whampao Military Academy, deemed to be the cradle of China's modern military personnel.
The three-story building was once the office of the academy's first headmaster, Chiang Kai-shek. It was listed as one of the city's protected relics in 1987.
Chen Yuhuan, an official with the local culture bureau, told the Global Times that a notice was sent to the Hei Hei nightclub, demanding that the owners undo their renovation and take down a sign that defaces the building's exterior.
"They altered the building structure and changed its original look," he said.
An ornate fireplace was ripped out, a decorative ceiling covered over and historic windows destroyed. Valuable flooring was removed or covered over.
Chen added that it is not within the bureau's authority to revoke the nightclub's license, which was granted by the industry and commerce department. But the Xinahua News Agency reported Tuesday that the club has been closed since the notice went out.
The notice was issued two days after the Guangzhou Daily reported the incident.
"The foundations of the three-story building can be seen through a hole one-meter deep, which was prepared as part of its firefighting system," said the report, adding that the club opened after the Lunar New Year.
Chen said the bureau sent a team of experts and scholars to evaluate the damage to historic relics inside the building.
The evaluation concluded that the "internal flooring and historic structure of the building had been totally changed. The nightclub's renovation project is a violation of the nation's law on historic relic protection."
