Building on the past

Restoration work started in 2009.During the process, Li began to learn about the history of the cinema and what the old building really means to Jinan's history and China's wider film culture.

Its Baroque architectural style is direct evidence of the integration of Chinese and Western cultures during Jinan's history of opening-up, according to Li.

"I felt an increasing responsibility to preserve a building of great aesthetic, social and historic value, so I began thinking about the meaning of the restoration," Li says.

Li and his partner Wang Jianning, a restoration designer, have insisted on using the original materials to maintain authenticity and preserve the original style and structure of the building as much as possible, in spite of the higher cost and longer time frame this would entail.

"What we need is not only a 100-year-old structure, but a vivid building that can tell us a century's worth of history," says Wang.