A battle to save 25 US-styled town houses built more than 80 years ago, has emerged in Hongkou District, Shanghai as 36 families have submitted a letter to the Shanghai government to prevent the buildings from being demolished for two high-rises.

The tenants argued that the houses, called Linken Fang, or "Lincoln Lane" after the 16th US President Abraham Lincoln, were well-preserved and part of the city's precious architecture heritage.

"What a unique and precious housing site," said resident Dai Lixiang to Shanghai Daily yesterday.

The 57-year-old has lived in the lane for more than 50 years and said that it was built by a rich Chinese American in the 1920s.

"We are willing to move out. But we expect the houses to remain," said Dai, noting that the lane could face demolition starting tomorrow.

The relocation notice the families received provided evidence that the project was approved by the Hongkou District government.

Currently, some 30 percent of the lane's 120-plus families have moved out and some houses have been partially demolished, the neighborhood committee said.

The 25 semi-detached town houses are located at 264 Xijiangwan Road at Huayuan Road and very close to the Hongkou Football Stadium.

Many architectural experts also considered Lincoln Lane one of the city's most representative residential lanes. Each house has a front and back garden, an arch gate and a chimney.

Lin Weihang, a researcher of architecture at Tongji University, said, "Lincoln Lane is an extraordinary heritage construction, like a living fossil among the city's old lanes."

According to his study, the houses inside the lane were the city's earliest villas equipped with gas. In addition, their electrical cables, water supply and fireplaces were intricately designed and constructed.

"The lane's building materials and layout are of great research value for today's architecture," he said.

Highly regarding its historic values, Lin has been trying to persuade urban planners to put the villas under municipal protection.

Wu Jiang, Shanghai Urban Planning Administrative Bureau deputy director, acknowledged that the government could issue some temporary measures to prevent "excellent" buildings from being destroyed but before that, it had to conduct an overall study.

"I will try to understand the situation of the lane first and then decide what to do with it," he said.

So far, the city has authorized 398 excellent historic buildings and 12 areas under municipal protection.

However, an estimate by Tongji University revealed that the city has at least 10,000 to 20,000 sites of valuable historic buildings, particularly residential buildings.

(eastday.com February 14, 2004)