Restoring Beijing's ancient architectural style

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, November 20, 2003

Restoring Beijing's ancient architectural style

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The Beijing Administration of Land Resources and Housing announced last week that all the flat roofs of residential buildings along the streets within the city's Third Ring Road will be changed into sloping ones. Such a plan offers much food for thought.

According to the administration, as well as practical reasons like renovation for heat insulation, the project is aimed at returning a traditional view of the ancient capital, as the old Beijing dwellings feature the caesious or blue-green colored sloping roof tile.

The municipal government has also decided to halt all projects aimed at the renovation or removal of old and derelict houses in the imperial city zone. Large-scale real-estate development projects will be prohibited in this area and the regulation issued in April regarding protection of the imperial zone is being taken seriously.

Beijing's sense of history has a lot to do with the architectural legacies of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368-1911) ranging from the well-preserved Forbidden City and remaining siheyuan, or quadrangle to the typical traditional civilian structures. There are 25 historical and cultural protection zones in the city, occupying an area of 1,038 hectares.

Five places in Beijing have been designated World Cultural Heritage sites: The Great Wall, the Temple of Heaven, the Ming Tombs, the Summer Palace and the Forbidden City. Beijing is also home to 60 historical relics protection sites at national level, 234 at municipal level and 517 at county level.

In the years immediately following the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, most of the ancient wall surrounding Beijing was pulled down because it was then regarded as a symbol of the old feudal society and was in the way of city development. As a result, the original flavour of the inner city was all but lost.

The economic prosperity brought about by the reform and opening up drive accelerated the renovation and renewal of old and derelict houses. Profit took priority over protection of historical and cultural relics as massive development projects unfolded.

As a result of the renovation projects, a conspicuous number of ancient hutong and hundreds of siheyuan - traditional Chinese alleys and quadrangles - were demolished. The siheyuan, four-sided enclosed yards, used to be home to many Beijing residents. It is a typical form of ancient Chinese architecture dating back more than six centuries.

Unfortunately, excessive development continues to gradually erode the unique historical flavour of the ancient city. The roaring bulldozers everywhere cannot but make people worry about the survival of the precious architectural relics in the capital city.

Huge commercial value associated with buildings of historical heritage has driven the municipal bureaucracy to reconsider its excessive push for new architectural landmarks as symbols of modernity over the last few years. Speed and economy, not aesthetics, were the major considerations when building houses in the early 1980s. Many flat-roof buildings in the old city area were built at that time.

But the large-scale disappearance of the hutong and the siheyuan began in the 1990s when the municipal government adopted the housing renovation policy that allowed developers to replace old and sometimes derelict homes with new high rise buildings. Such a massive overhaul impaired Beijing's attempt to apply for the World Heritage Site listing in 2000 and 2001.

The frustration was also been coupled with some positive results. In 2001 and 2002, Beijing listed 40 protected historical zones, which accounted for 42 percent of the old city. The municipal government also increased its efforts to restore some key relics and older streets in the city.

Regulations have been set on the height, style and color of buildings in the inner city to maintain Beijing's overall ancient appearance. And now, the roofs of residential buildings have been considered.

Thinking about all of the trouble and cost this will take, it can only be hoped that this project will achieve its goal of making the city's skyline more beautiful. More importantly, it pushes for greater attention to urban planning and creating policies in the future. Had there been better planning and more thorough policies, there would be less need for such remedial projects.

With 850 years' history as a capital city, Beijing is a veritable goldmine of culture. There is no reason not to cherish such precious cultural heritage. The celebration of the 850th anniversary of the capital city is to enlighten people about Beijing's history and cultivate a sense of protection in development.

Better protection should start with altering the current development ideology and readjusting the development plan. The mode characterized by the complete demolition of old houses - including cultural and historical relics - and replacing them with new buildings must be changed. Instead, prudence is needed in the improvement and renovation of the city. The expansion of Beijing should no longer be out of control.

In the 1950s renowned architect Liang Sicheng drew up a blueprint for Beijing's development that gave much consideration to protection. That plan, however, was turned down and replaced by a destructive development mode.

City planning is a complicated job, which requires a democratic and scientific procedure in decision-making. In drawing up the blueprint for development, voices from all walks of life should be heard.

The new initiatives in Beijing's development should be orientated towards better protection of its historical and cultural relics. Those precious relics are impossible to replace once demolished, and the losses can never be made up by fake buildings.

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