Street smarts

His early knowledge of the area's history came from his family, and he still lives in Guangjie Lane in Wudadao district. He was born in a villa in the district, where his relatives were prominent underground figures in the Communist Party of China.

He donated his parents' wedding photos to the Five Greater Avenues History Museum in Minyuan Stadium, which has replicas of scenes from life in the Western-style buildings.

Jin often starts his tours there for both Chinese and foreign visitors.

A Beijing tourist wrote in a visitors' book in the museum, that he was impressed by Jin's stories. "He is a witness, and tourists can also see that there is enormous love in his and many residents' stories."

Jin, who retired 15 years ago, also serves as a consultant to the Five Greater Avenues Cultural Tourism Development Co and continues to play a role in the protection and development of the area.

His connections to conservation of the buildings dates back almost 60 years.

In 1962, he was assigned as a youngster to work for a construction team of the local housing management bureau. One of their major tasks was to renovate Tianjin's old buildings, including the ones in Wudadao.

In his spare time, Jin studied at Xinhua Vocational University and graduated with a history diploma. Since the 1980s, Jin said, he has walked every corner of Wudadao. "I think half of my life has been spent around every corner of the area," he said.

In 2005, he was promoted to director of the research office of the Tianjin Municipal Office of Conservation of Stylish and Historical Architecture and lead a team to review the status of the historical buildings of the area.

He has written more than 50 books about the district.

Wang Yeming, the director of the Administrative Committee of the Wudadao Area, said they need more experts like Jin to help the rest of the world learn about the conservation of the buildings and the culture and history of the area.

Wudadao has 300 residential buildings with styles ranging from Renaissance to baroque, and likes to promote itself "a museum of architecture" of many countries.

Wang said he wants to set up a research institute for the Wudadao district.