Volunteers build appreciation for architectural heritage

French archaeologist Emilie Lagneau spent her first two weeks in China repairing an ancient house in a remote mountain village in the eastern province of Fujian.

She was one of 16 volunteers - three French and 13 Chinese - who arrived for a two-week architectural heritage preservation work camp in Jiulong village, Nanping, on July 16.

The volunteers carried tiles and logs up the mountain to the two-story house, which has a wooden inner structure and rammed-earth outer walls. Under the guidance of three local craftsmen, they built a rammed earth wall to replace a rotten wooden beam.