Monday, March 29, 2010

Historical Beijing quarter 'to be destroyed'


"Historical Beijing quarter 'to be destroyed'
One of the last unspoilt quarters of traditional Beijing is facing demolition under a £500m "restoration" plan.

Conservationists argue that the plans will irrevocably damage one of the Chinese capital's social and architectural jewels.

The 30-acre development around the ancient Drum and Bell Towers, which were used to tell the time in the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, will see traditional crooked courtyard houses and winding alleyways replaced with a themed 'Beijing Time Cultural City".

"As a result, there will be extensive evictions, demolition, and construction in this ancient area, and gone will be the traditional courtyards, hutongs, and local residents," warned the Beijing Cultural Heritage Protection Center, an independent conservation group. "

Picture and article: The Telegraph

1 Comments:

At 4:25 PM, Blogger Wild Child said...

I think this is called "Preservation with Chinese characteristics". All those who criticize must be either foreigers who fail to understand the differences of Chinese culture, or terrorists bent on subverting the institutions.

Ci ho sbattuto la testa contro troppe volte, Danié... al CHP ci ho lavorato un anno, due weekend al mese... per come la vedo io, non c'è speranza, o meglio: la speranza è che alla fine non distruggano anche sé stessi nella loro frenetica corsa allo sviluppo. Gli hutong tutto sommato non credo saranno la peggiore delle loro perdite nei prossimi anni.

 

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