The old French Consulate is close in sight

Plaster layer applied on the wall before repair

Four walls remained in the old factory before repair

Rendering of old site of Match Raw Material Factory

Partial doors and windows before repair

CHONGQING (CQNEWS) -- A three-story Chinese-western building will certainly impress you which is near Fenghuangtai, Shibati and Jiefang West Road. It is known that this is the former site of "the Old China Match Raw Material Factory which is undergoing reconstruction. It was founded by the famous Match King, Liu Hongsheng during the Anti-Japanese War. The city's outstanding historical building, which combines Chinese and western elements, is about to be renovated and put into use in mid-September this year.

What's the story behind this historic building? Who is Liu Hongsheng, the Match King? Why did this building witness the development of Chinese newspapers in the early 1950s? The report will take you to find answers.

It was founded at the start of renovation for Shibati Traditional Style Area

Drive from Zhongxing Road into the Jiefang West Road, the old blue brick building of the Republic of China at the road junction looks magnificent and grand in the Shibati Traditional Style Area under construction.

The building, which used to be the Match Raw Material Factory, was listed as one of the first batch of outstanding historical buildings in Chongqing in 2016. It was discovered, however, when the reconstruction began in Shibati Traditional Style Area.

In 2010, the reconstuction of Shibati Traditional Style Area started, and residents moved out one after another. No. 158, Jiefang West Road gradually come into people's vision. According to the person in charge of Yuzhong Relics Management Center, the building itself was old and run-down, surrounded by many shabby, low-slung bungalows, while it was notable for its distinctive style and size.

Former site of Match Raw Material Factory and Southwest Workers Daily

The person in charge of Yuzhong Relics Management Center introduced that the original building of brick and wood structure, was built in the 1930s.

"The architecture has experienced and witnessed two important periods with high historical value.” During the Anti-Japanese War, Liu Hongsheng once established China Match Raw Material Factory here, which played an important role in the economic development and supporting the Anti-Japanese War, as well as the representative of the industry consolidation in the development history of modern national capital and the historical witness of Chongqing's modern industrial development.

Liu Hongsheng, a native of Dinghai, Zhejiang Province, is best known as the Match King. He was the founder of the largest match factory in China during the Republic of China. At the peak of its prosperity, his total capital reached more than 3 million yuan, making him a match king worthy of the name. It is worth mentioning that the building witnessed the development of Chinese newspapers industry in the 1950s. The Southwest Workers' Daily was supported by the Southwest Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and the Southwest Office of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, chaired by Deng Xiaoping, Liu Bocheng and He Long. From 1950 to 1951, Southwest Worker’s Daily successively purchased the property right of this small building from southwest branch of China Match Raw Material Factory, Shengji Independent Rice Factory and some self-employment ventures.

The former site of the Match Raw Material Factory is expected to be put into use in the mid-September this year. (Translated by Luo Juan, Fathom Language Limited)