Two weeks ago, I returned to Fuyang and revisited the Fuchun Mountain Pavilion after eight years. When I first visited in spring 2018, the building was still new. The plants were young, the surfaces sharp, and time had not yet settled into the space.

Now the vegetation has thickened. Moss grows between walls and steps, rain has softened the concrete, and Fuyang’s damp air has blurred the façade patterns. What once felt slightly forced in its landscape composition now appears more natural. Time has given the building a life.

Yet as an art museum, it remains disappointing. Named after Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains, it should have built a richer dialogue between painting, local landscape and the real Fuchun River. Instead, the exhibitions feel thin and careless.

This is the problem with many local cultural buildings in China: ambitious architecture, but fragile institutions. Without research, curatorial work and public education, architecture becomes an elegant shell.

But still, I will return. Plants, rain and everyday life are slowly redeeming it.