On June 4th, 2009, the opening ceremony of the first workshop on “Restoration Technology in Modern Historic Buildings” was held in WHITRAP (Shanghai). The workshop was co-sponsored by WHITRAP (Suzhou), WHITRAP (Shanghai), Tongji University and WTA-International-Germany. Distinguished guests were invited to deliver their welcome speeches on the ceremony, including Mr. WU Jiang, Vice President of Tongji University, Mr.YANG Hui, Deputy Director of Suzhou Gardens Administration Bureau, Mr. WU Zhiqiang, Director of WHITRAP (Shanghai), Mr. WANG Anshi, Former Division chief of Shanghai House Administration Bureau, and Prof. Hans-Peter Leimer from BBS Institute, Germany. In their speeches, great importance was attached to the cooperation between WHITRAP (Suzhou) and WHITRAP (Shanghai) and to maximize their respective advantages to hold more high-quality training programs.

After the speeches, Dr. LI Xin of Shanghai Centre introduced the workshop schedule, the teachers and the participants. There are altogether 35 people enrolled, among which 7 are from government departments of various provinces and cities in China, 15 from professional organizations, 3 from universities and 10 from corporations. Amid warm applause of the guests and the trainees, the two-day workshop commenced.