China's oldest bathhouse closes down  

中國最古老澡堂南京甕堂歇業 距今歷史超600年

File photo shows citizes in Wengtang in 2013. [Photo: China News Service / Lu Hui]

File photo shows a citizen stpoing into Wengtang in 2013. [Photo: China News Service / Lu Hui]

(ECNS) -- Wengtang, a 600-year-old public bathhouse in Nanjing of Jiangsu province, has shut down, the Beijing-based Guangming Daily reported on Monday.

Situated in the Qinhuai district of urban Nanjing, Wengtang was built in the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) and is the oldest public bathhouse in China.

Reporters found that more than half of the buildings around Wengtang had been demolished, while the bathhouse itself appeared to be untouched.

Xue Fei, a civil official in the district, told reporters that the whole community except the bathhouse was put on a demolition list last March, and that citizens had moved out gradually.

With the number of guests declining, the manager of the bathhouse chose to close the business, he added.

As a cultural relic, Wengtang will be repaired, an official at the local cultural bureau said, but they must first draft a renovation plan and apply for approval.

The water and electricity supplies were cut off last November, Xue said, adding that they had cemented Wengtang's windows and deployed two security guards in case of break-ins.

Qian Yulin, 76, a local Nanjingese who has frequented the bathhouse since he was a child, said nostalgically: "I might never get to take a dip in Wengtang's waters again."