Old tradtions being reserved and old buildings being renovated. Now in Najing in East China's Jiangsu Province, Dahua Cinema, built in trademark 1930s architecture, turns 74 this year.
Now the city's local government is to renovate the building to protect its exterior but modernize the inside.
Built in 1934 on the busiest street in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu province, Dahua Cinema used to be the biggest and best theatre of the country. It survived the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation and its heyday lasted for decades.
Dong changsheng, government official, said, "The cinema was designed by the prestigious architect Yang Tingbao. In its early years it was the biggest theatre across Asia. The yearly boxoffice in the early 90s was one million yuan, which ranked second in Chinese cinemas."
The cinema shut in September 2008, and part of it was rented out.
A recent security appraisal shows that the main building is badly damaged with cracks, mildew and weathering.
The local government published a renovation plan this month and appointed Southeast University Professor Zhou Qi as chief designer.
According to Zhou, the cinema front, front door and hall will be maintained. But the aged reinforced concrete will be replaced. The main 1,800 seat auditorium will be rebuilt as six smaller theaters.