The Pear Orchard Temple has undergone many repairs in its 300 year history, and most of them have been made by the people in Diantou Village, who look after the temple. Unfortunately, funding for repairs relies on small donations from the families of Diantou, so over the years there has been an emphasis on cost-saving and substituting cheaper modern construction materials. In our effort to restore the temple to its original condition, we’ve had to remove a lot of junk concrete and masonry block where there was once stone, brick and rammed earth. In the past month, we’ve prepared floors and corridors for these authentic materials, the costs of which have more than doubled in the past five years, but we believe that the end result will be worth our cost and effort.
Preparing to lay new brick in the main courtyard
Tamping down earth to prepare the main courtyard for new pavers
Corridor prepared for new brick
Laying six-sided paver bricks
New pavers in corridor complete
Exhibition room floor in progress
Replacement windows
Removing old paint from windows