Wu Mansion, built in 1929 by Wu Dingchang, who was then a member of the Kuomintang and a financier, reamins intact to this day.[Photo by Jia Yue for Chinadaily.com.cn]

About the photographer:

Jia Yue, 36, who got a bachelor's degree in engineering from Tsinghua University in 2000 and later a master's degree in film studies from Beijing Film Academy in 2005, is now working with Tsinghua university's cultural heritage protection research institute. He is also a lecturer in the school of Photography of Beijing Film Academy.

From 2005 to 2012, Jia organized and completed the systematic visual recording works for dozens of cultural heritage sites, trying to introduce the concept of documentary photography into the cultural heritage protection system and to further explain the value of heritage through visual works.

The relationship between heritage, nature and human beings has been Jia’s focal point. The combination of photographic language and historical perspectives is regarded important, which unifies Jia’s dual roles as both a photographer and a heritage conservator. What Jia wants to achieve through his shooting is that the historical value carried by the cultural heritage can be felt and absorbed at the highest level.