Shipyard retains its historical glory

At the end of the stage play The Glory Belongs To Foochow Arsenal, the seats begin moving.

More than 400 audience seats, arranged as a movable "time ship", carry spectators out of the former repair workshop where the performance has unfolded. A wall opens, sunlight pours in, and a naval vessel on the Minjiang River comes into view.

For a moment, the boundary between theater and real-life history disappears.

"It was astonishing when the seats moved from the workshop toward the river. It felt as if I were a witness to history," says local resident Lin Min after the show.

The scene takes place in Mawei district, about 20 kilometers southeast of downtown Fuzhou in Fujian province, at the former Foochow Arsenal, the 19th-century shipbuilding complex established in 1866.

Today, the complex has evolved into a shipbuilding culture area, where old workshops, warehouses and other industrial sites are being given new life while retaining their original setting.

The Foochow Arsenal was established as China sought to strengthen its naval and industrial capabilities in the late Qing (1644-1911) period. It built and repaired ships, established a school for naval and technical education, and became closely associated with the development of China's modern navy and early aviation.

More than 160 years later, local authorities are working to transform its shipbuilding legacy into something meaningful for people who weren't there.