Ever-Spring Hall, neglected Shanghai landmark, wrecked by rainstorm

Oh gosh, here's some really sad news. Remember Ever-spring Hall, which we featured a photo set of just a couple of days ago? The last couple of rainstorms were not kind to it - according to Shanghai Daily, its roof has completely caved in.

The silver lining to this dark cloud is that its destruction may actually make way for its revival - it's unintended demolition-by-weather has reminded Shanghai officials of its existence:

The hall, although listed as a protected architecture by Huangpu District government, has been left unattended for dozens of years, stuck at the end of a narrow lane on Wutong Road, near its more famous contemporary, Yuyuan Garden.

A property-management worker blamed the government for inaction in protecting the architecture and said he was worried that the typhoon predicted for September might tear apart the whole building...

An official surnamed Li with Huangpu Culture Bureau said they were working on a proposal to conduct emergency repairs to the building and promised they would have it done before next Wednesday.

Conceding that the ancient building was under the bureau's protection, Li said that they had already made a plan to renovate it and had sent workers to the site.

When asked, those workers said they were actually working on some old man's house and had never been given orders to repair Ever-Spring Hall. But now that the building's in the news, maybe they'll have a change of jobs.