Perched at the highest elevation of Longtanxiao, a secluded 400-year-old village in Anhui Province, the Tongling Mountain Residence emerges from the footprint of a forgotten ruin. For over a decade, the original Hui-style dwelling sat abandoned, its roof collapsed and its walls swallowed by mountain shrubs. In 2017, architect Ziyu Zhuang and actor Daniel Wu reimagined this dilapidated structure for the television series 'Dream House.' Working against a tight 40-day filming schedule, the design team and local craftsmen orchestrated a remarkable transformation, turning a crumbling shell into a contemporary homestay that speaks directly to the region's heritage.

The architecture synthesizes traditional rural forms with a modern spatial vocabulary. To accommodate modern living, the designers expanded the original modest footprint, adding bays to the west and south to create a spacious, four-bay layout. Because the original ceiling was too low, the structure was elevated to two stories. The defining feature of the exterior is its sweeping, double-ridge curved roof. Covered in traditional green tiles, the roofline mimics the undulating silhouettes of the distant mountains. This continuous surface merges traditional folded roof techniques with a streamlined, contemporary geometry.

At the heart of the residence lies a central courtyard, born from a specific request by Wu to frame the village's tallest relic tree. The architects divided an existing broken wall to create this open-air atrium, reviving the traditional 'four waters returning to the hall' concept. During the day, the space captures the rain; at night, it frames the Milky Way.

Materiality plays a central role in the building's narrative. The structure relies on a modern steel frame, which the builders carefully concealed behind slices of original, salvaged bricks. New brickwork was painted white to match classic Hui-style aesthetics, with craftsmen applying an aging technique where the old and new materials meet to create a seamless visual transition. Recycled timber and old tiles, gathered from neighboring abandoned dwellings, form the columns and roof, grounding the new construction in the local ecology.

Inside, the residence pays homage to Tongling's history as a historic 'copper capital.' A monumental five-meter-tall copper entry door establishes a profound sense of arrival. This metallic motif continues throughout the interior, featuring a copper-framed dining area, suspended copper stairs, and a copper kitchen unit embedded directly into the original stone wall.

Today, the Tongling Mountain Residence operates as a scenic homestay. It offers visitors a physical experience of rural revitalization, demonstrating how contemporary design can rescue a decaying structure and reintroduce it to the modern world. The building stands as a quiet observer of the ancient village, offering a space where architecture, history, and the natural landscape exist in complete harmony.