Craftsmanship in Wood

A traditional complex inside the Botanaical Garden of Shanghai. Very interesting place, here I spend a couple of hours looking at all the details.

And the open roof structure...
I must say I was amazed by the choice of the material. Which I think was rather low for such a building complex. I think they where originally planing to paint it all vermiljon as they often do, but then decided to varnish everything with some poly-urethane lacquer.

Yes, you're right, the material quality is not the best, and that poly-urethane is winning me over either. The scribing work looks clean, and it appears the hips are in sections (?)

Yes, indeed those hips are in sections. I thought this was the most interesting structure I have seen so far, I liked it a lot.
Using the round timbers and scribing methodes eliminates a lot of the layout challenges involved using square timbers. It is not always obvious how they do certain things and I often have to withhold myself from climbing on top of structures or crawling under tables in museums to see how things are made.
Now that I am in China my appreciation for traditional Chinese carpentry is growing. I hope I get the chance to meet some carpenters as well.

Appreciation comes with understanding and ignorance leads to aversion.