The Kim Taekyoung Memorial Hall, located in the Chongchuan district of Nantong opens to the public on Jan 6 after a six-month renovation. [Video/ntjoy.com]

The Kim Taekyoung Memorial Hall, located in the Chongchuan district of Nantong – a prefecture-level city in East China's Jiangsu province – opened to the public on Jan 6 after a six-month renovation.

Born in 1850, Kim Taekyoung was a Korean patriotic poet. In 1905, to avoid Japanese imperialist aggression, he moved to Nantong with his family and lived in the city for 22 years.

During his stay in China, Kim established a deep friendship with Zhang Jian, a well-known local business magnate and leading academic.

Situated in the Xinanying Historical and Cultural Block, the memorial hall is composed of the former residence of the poet – which has been designated as a historical and cultural site protected at the municipal level – and the former residence of Feng Guangjiu, an immovable cultural relic.

As the first celebrity former residence built by the Xinanying Historical and Cultural Block, the renovation aimed to upgrade the memorial hall as an iconic exhibition hall, to promote Sino-Korean cultural exchanges.

"Because it's a former residence, we retain historical information as much as possible and have reproduced its original appearance," said Lu Le, an employee at Nantong Chongchuan Culture and Tourism Development Co Ltd.

In addition to restoring the building, high-tech facilities have also been installed – such as an intelligent voice navigation system and smart central control system – to make the hall an integrated exhibition center, public education facility and a place for academic research.