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The 300-year Jinlun Guild Hall in Liwan District was opened to the public last week after being relocated and renovated.

Visitors will be admitted free for one week until the eve of the Spring Festival.

Government officials attending the opening ceremony were the first visitors.

Considering the limited number of visitors the hall can accommodate and the safety of the ancient relics, the hall will restrict the number of visitors.

The admission fee is yet to be decided.

After the opening of the guild hall, the Liwan District Government resumed the rights to manage the cultural site from the city's culture bureau.

According to a district development plan, the guild hall will become a museum reflecting the city's industrial development. The pedestrian street where the guild hall is located will also be developed. It contains shops selling jade ware, the Hualin Temple and other sites of historical interest.

Chen Shaofeng, a master of Guangzhou embroidery, will possibly offer training courses at the museum.

The Guild hall was established during the reign of Emperor Yongzheng in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and was listed as a protected cultural site by the Guangzhou government. It is the only well preserved guild hall and evidence of the history of Guangzhou's booming foreign trade.

The government decided to relocate the building in 2001 to make way for the construction of Kangwang Road, a trunk road connecting Changshou and Xiajiu roads.

Editor: Catherine