A performer sings local opera, which has been listed as an intangible cultural heritage of the town.

Most of the town was leveled, however, during the Battle of Tai'erzhuang, an important victory for the Kuomintang during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression.

"Only 53 buildings of the 6,600 buildings remained after the devastating war," Ren says.

My companion and I were unable to imagine the extent of the damage to the town as we stood surrounded by strong and intact ancient buildings - some in the classical building style of the southern provinces and others in European styles.

Photos are on show beside some reconstructed buildings to show their history to tourists. At the Jiuhe Inn, built in typical Anhui architectural style, four photos are displayed showing the site before and after the war, and before and after reconstruction.

A building in the Gothic style stands out on Zhongxing Street, named for the Zhongxing Coal Mineral Company that had its office on that site in the 20th century. The color and texture of the materials make the recreated building seem to have weathered hundreds of years.

The Zhongxing company issued China's first industrial stock and bought China's first steamship and train, and built its first port, but was forced to cooperate with German businessmen when Shandong province was taken over by Germany in 1898. The Germans were attracted to Tai'erzhuang for its convenient transportation and the company built the Gothic style office to appeal to its German partners.

If a visitor was not aware in advance that most of the buildings in the town are recreations, he or she would probably think the Zhongxing building is the original built 100 years ago. In fact, it was rebuilt only a few years ago.

"Recreate as the old" is a principle the Zaozhuang government tried to live up to when they rebuilt the town.

"We were determined to recreate the town as much as possible like the old one. We recreated the buildings where they used to be and in their original sizes with their original architectural styles. The main materials for the buildings were selected from the places the building style belongs to. We also invited native craftsmen to ensure genuine handicraft," says Huo Yuanyuan, vice-mayor of Zaozhuang.

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