Century-old Shanghai buildings moved back using 432 robots

Post by : Bianca Suleiman

In Shanghai, very old buildings that were built almost 100 years ago have been moved back to their original place using a special and impressive method. These buildings are very heavy—they weigh about 7,500 tonnes—and cover a large area of 4,030 square meters. They were first built in the 1920s and 1930s and have a special style called Shikumen. This style mixes Western design with traditional homes from the southern Yangtze River Delta region.

These buildings are located in a cultural and historical area called Zhangyuan. For many years, they have been the best-kept and most interesting group of Shikumen buildings in Shanghai.

The buildings were moved away from their original spot because a big construction project was planned. This project will build a large underground area that covers 53,000 square meters. Since there were many buildings packed closely together, there was no space to fix or work on them while the construction happened. So, they had to move all the buildings at once.

Starting on May 19, a team used 432 small robots with crawler tracks to carefully move the entire group of buildings back. These robots worked together, moving slowly at about 10 meters each day. This careful moving of the buildings was a great example of engineering skill.

Now, the buildings have returned safely to their original place, allowing the construction to continue while preserving this important piece of Shanghai’s history.