A view of the two-story residence. [Photo/IC]

The former lakeside home of the founder of modern bridge engineering in China is now an Italian restaurant in Hangzhou.

Mao Yisheng's former home on West Lake is a 1930s two-story villa with a garden that provides a good view with a cozy ambience. It is one of the many attempts to converge East and West through the creative use of old structures.

Mao, as a Chinese structural engineer and an expert on bridge construction, built two of the most famous modern bridges in China, the Qiantang River Bridge near Hangzhou and the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge in Wuhan.