The Shen Shou Art Gallery [Photo/ntfabu.com]

The Shen Shou Art Gallery will reopen to the public in Nantong on May 1 after closing for renovations more than a year ago.

Located on the banks of the Haohe River, the two-floor building is a national-levelintangible cultural heritage center and a historical site under municipal-level protection.

It was built in 1992 at the former site of China's first embroidery school founded by Zhang Jian, a famous modern local industrialist and renowned academic.

The gallery covers an area of about 600 square meters and was designed in a style that combines ancient Chinese and Western architectures. It houses a number of photos and embroidery works by Shen Shou (1874-1921), a Suzhou embroidery master.

A group of embroiderers have been working at the gallery to develop traditional techniques, and several of their works have been sent to foreign government leaders by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as national gifts.

The local government recently spent nearly 2 million yuan ($283,600) renovating the gallery, as it had been worn down over the years.

Local landscaping companies and construction design institutes worked together to ensure the original structure and style of the gallery were preserved during renovations.

Officials have said the renovation work is almost complete and collections are being moved back to the gallery. It will be renamed Shen's Embroidery Museum after reopening.