Lingshan Island, located in Shandong province, is the highest island in northern China. This is an island with extremely poor resources and no fresh water, holding less than 3,000 people. But in such a desolate place, there is an amazing seashell-themed house. Who built it? How did he build? Why did he do this? Now, let me uncover the beauty of this dreamy palace.
This is the first privately-built seashell house in China which is covered 500 types of shellfishes, which also applied for the Guinness Book of Records. The man who renovated this large house is a native of Lingshan Island named Xiao Yongsheng. He scrimped and saved as well as borrowed left and right for the construction, which even cost all he has. Up to now, some people around him don’t understand his actions of doing it for free. However, actually, he just wants to showcase the beauty here.
Xiao said, “See, there is no fresh water and tall buildings here. But there are so many seashells. What a huge, free supply of beautiful building material! So why not use it?” It’s not easy for him to design and build such a seashell house independently. The most difficult step is to collect seashells. In order to collect a complete range of seashells in different sizes, he has been to the small beach every morning and dusk for 30 years. Most seashells stuck on the walls are grabbed at the seaside. Some big ones stuck on the roof are bought from foreign countries. Among the 500 kinds of seashells used, the largest weighs as much as four kilos, while the smallest is only three-millimeter-long. “It’s a very finicky job. I used them for everything,” he elaborated. “For decoration, for roof tiles, as handles, and even crushed up to make mosaics. They are everywhere.”
In addition, he also devoted himself to the design of the seashell-themed house. The house covers more than 1,500 square meters. It adopted three styles. One is the ancient architecture style in China. The second one is the architecture style in western islands. The last one is applied in the circular house which connects the Chinese style and western style, which means harmony. As well, including the external walls, the road is covered with seashells.
Because of the construction, Xiao Yongsheng lives a poor life now. But he never feel regretful for what he has done. He is even going to spend the rest of his life enriching the seashell house, making it a real museum to display the history of the island. Thanks to this house, Lingshan Island starts to gain the attention from outsides. And this house has become the most popular tourist attractions on Lingshan Island. There is no exaggeration to say that Xiao Yongsheng has changed the destiny of this island!
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(The blog is reprinted from the Wechat article in efifan.)