Nobel winner's home becomes instant attraction

China's admiration of outstanding scholars has turned the well-preserved childhood home of Tu Youyou, the Chinese pharmacologist who won this year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, into a popular tourist destination.

Since it was announced on Monday that 84-year-old Tu had become the first Chinese citizen to win the international prize, her former home in the old town of Ningbo, Zhejiang province, has attracted visitors, especially parents and their children - even though it is not open to the public.

The house, which is for sale, is part of a complex of 37 traditional buildings, including several city-and district-level cultural relic preservation sites, that have been transformed into a high-end art and commercial zone.