Mei-Ling Post Pavilion is located at South China Historical Trail. In March 2018, Urban Architecture Design of GDAD was commissioned of designing a new post pavilion at the historical post route. Different sections of the route were found at the rural areas of Guangdong. As a design group with social responsibility, we focus the countryside through the voluntary service of “Architects, Planners and Engineers to the Countryside”. This project was a good entry point for us to make contribution to the rural areas with our knowledge and design.

新驿站的创作从选址到设计都得到非常高的自由度，设计从对南粤古驿道的价值发掘有益、对周围居民有益、乡土环境里的在地性与呼应历史的传统性三个维度出发。

We had a high degree of freedom during the design process. The design has three major starting points: benefiting exploring the value of historical trail and local community, localization of the rural contexts, and making dialogue with the local history and traditions.

South China Historical Trail was an important trade (post) route for economic and cultural communication in ancient Guangdong, people used it to travel, convey supplies and documents. Nowadays, it is still an important route to connect different cultural resources and heritages, about 60% of impoverished villages in Guangdong are located alone the track. With supporting the impoverished villages and emphasizing the cultural heritage, the track has been systematic restored and explored the value.

▼梅岭驿站西北侧，the northwest side of the project ©凯剑视觉