Cha House

Cha House is a historical building located in Shanghai, People's Republic of China. The building was constructed in 1920 and was owned and used by two brothers Qiu Xinshan and Qiu Weiqing, who were businessmen in dye industry at that time.[1] The Qiu’s residence originally comprised two blocks, the East Block and West Block. The West Block was demolished for the reconstruction of Minli Middle School, while the East Block was used as the office building of the school. In 2002, HKR International (HKRI) acquired the land-use right of Dazhongli, on which the building was located. Afterwards, the building was moved from previous location to the current one and now forms part of the HKRI Taikoo Hui.[2]

Cha House
查公館
Former namesThe Qiu’s residence (1920-1940) Minli Middle School Block 4 (1940-2008)
General information
TypeBusiness
Architectural styleBaroque architecture with Jiangnan features
Construction started1913
Technical details
Floor area1777 square metres
Awards and prizesOutstanding Historical Buildings (1999)

History

The Qiu’s Residence (1920-1940)

Cha House was built by two brothers Qiu Xinshan and Qiu Weiqing, who were engaged in the dye industry, in the 1920s. The Qiu’s residence originally comprised two blocks (East Block and West Block) and each of the blocks was used by one of the brothers and his family members.[3]

Minli Middle School (1940-2002)

After the outbreak of WWII, the campus of Minli Middle School in Shanghai was destroyed and the temporary school building located in International settlement was out of capacity. Therefore, Minli Middle School rented the Qiu’s Residence as one of the school buildings. After the war, the building was commandeered by the Nationalist Government as “New Life Club” for a short period of time. Later, the West Block was demolished and the East Block continued to be used by Minli Middle School and was named “Outstanding Historical Building” in 1999.[4]

Reconstruction Period (2002-2017)

In 2002, HKRI acquired the Dazhongli site with a consideration of RMB 1.3 billion and planned to redevelop the land into a commercial complex. However, the location of Minli Middle School within the site made it impossible to build and excavate for foundation. Evaluation by a team of specialists concluded that the building needed to be moved horizontally to a new site.[5]

On 26 January 2010, the building glued to the base was pushed by hydraulic jacks towards its new position at the Southern end of the site near Weihai Road along the paved tracks at a speed of two centimeters per minute. The moving of the building over a distance of 57 metres took two weeks and the building reached its final position on 7 February where it was fixed onto a new foundation.

Upon its successful relocation and after further restoration, the historic building is ready to be reopened.[6]

Cha House (2017-NOW)

The building has been renamed as Cha House, in memory of Dr Cha Chi Ming who is the founder of HKRI.[7]

References
  1. "大中里項目保護建築移位工程順利完成。承傳上海獨特文化，為社區創造新價值". Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  2. "HKR International Ltd". hkri.com. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  3. chinanews. "昔日上海滩巨贾老宅开始"大手笔"南移——中新网". chinanews.com. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  4. "上海被平移的老建筑竟然有一打 新生之后更值得看了-新华网". sh.xinhuanet.com. Archived from the original on 2018-04-09. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  5. "上海民立中学八旬老校舍将向东南平移57米(图)-搜狐新闻". news.sohu.com. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  6. "HKR International Ltd". hkri.com. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  7. "百年建築易名紀念查濟民_大公資訊_大公網". news.takungpao.com.hk. Retrieved 2018-04-06.

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