TV gala exposure draws thousands to Anhui lane

Tourists visit Liuchi Lane in Anhui, Feb 15, 2016. [Photo by Zhu Lixin/China Daily]

Zhang estimated that "at least 5,000 people visited the lane daily during Spring Festival which had never been seen before".

Zhang said only a small part of the Wu family's houses remain but a restoration plan is on the way.

The original houses of both families were taken by a hospital, which was built during the Korean War in the early 1950s.

During the "cultural revolution" most houses were pulled down and new buildings erected on the site.

"The local government made a plan to recover the original houses in 2011, while it will be by the end of 2016 that the planning and design works can be finished", said Duan Pengfei, chairman of the state-run Tong Cheng Culture & Tourism Investment and Development Co Ltd.

Duan said they had contacted Zhang Zeshi, the last occupant of the Zhangs' mansion who went to Taiwan in 1949.

Zhang drew a picture of the shapes and layout of the original houses.

The recovery project required investment of at least 290 million yuan ($44.5 million), according to Duan, while he thought it would be worthwhile since the lane and the two families were an important cultural symbol of China.