The hutongs of Dongsi Batiao: the saga goes on

Interesting to read the official press, see copies: article from China Daily (30 May) and another from Xinhua (28 May) that was on China Daily’s website. As you can see, not clear yet. At least it is reported in the official media, a step forward.
I was also interviewed on the subject by China Radio International, for my weekly stunt around the Olympics. here’s basically what I said – my official position:
– the saga is bad for Beijing’s image because of the confusing and conflicting declarations; either the hutongs are worth protecting and are registered as such, or they are not; if this is done correctly the authorities should immediately intervene and clarify the situation; the uncertainty generates bad press and everybody will remember it as “Beijing destroys the hutongs for money”;
– hutongs and siheyuans should be checked by experts (real and neutral ones!) to evaluate their historical value and how they should be renovated and preserved;
– many so-called hutongs are just shanties good enough only to be bulldozed; some of the inhabitants just want to get as much money as they can and are ready to make a fuzz to get it;
– renovation should be assisted by specialists, too many restorations have been badly done, destroying the original structure or using the wrong material (like happened before in the Forbidden City until they went back to… pigs’ blood);
– many people, foreigners and locals alike are ready to do a good restoration job and should be encouraged by all means – it can only help to preserve as much as possible the spirit of old Beijing.
And if you wanna know, I am myself not a fan to live in a siheyuan. I find most very uncomfortable, with bad insulation during winter and summer and one gets eaten alive by the pesky mosquitoes in summer and or gets exposed to Beijing’s merciless pollution. That may be good for insect lovers and people with stainless steel lungs and skin.
30 May 2007 – Preserving our hutong (China Daily)
The old city renovation project in Dongsi Batiao tests the municipal government’s management ability, says a signed article in Beijing News. An excerpt follows:
According to the Beijing Municipal Commission of Urban Planning, the Dongsi Batiao relocation project is temporarily suspended.
But Vice-Chairman of Beijing Municipal People’s Political Consultative Conference Wang Changlian said recently that active protection of the old city proper, or a combination of protection and utilization, was necessary.
Authorities of the Dongcheng District said that there are no certified or registered cultural relics in the demolished part of Dongsi Batiao so the area has no value for protection.
Beijing has demolished much of its old city proper since the 1990s. The result is that traditional streets and houses are gradually disappearing. Only some royal palaces and gardens are well preserved.
Against such a background, we should try our best to save more areas of cultural and historical significance. Passive protection, or preservation, is justified and necessary. And this is the very reason that the Dongsi Batiao project stirs many.
The discussion over the renovation of Beijing’s old city proper has continued for about half a century. It is pathetic that people are still disputing whether hutong (alleys) and siheyuan (courtyard houses) are worthy of protection today when these traditional areas are rare.
The protection of Beijing’s old city cannot be decided by the district government or the real estate developer. Besides, it tests the government’s ability to deal with social disputes.
A democratic procedure and wide social participation are needed. Involved departments should hold a public hearing on the project to solicit opinions and explore solutions.
28 May 2007 – Demolition suspended of Beijing ancient hutong (Xinhua)
The controversial demolition of houses at Dongsi Batiao, an ancient alley of courtyard homes in downtown Beijing, has been suspended, an official with Dongcheng District government has confirmed. Suspending demolition, however, doesn’t mean the redevelopment project has been terminated, the official said.
The official said the demolition office will continue negotiating with local residents over the amount of compensation they will receive.
By Saturday, only the No. 9 courtyard in the hutong or alley had been bulldozed and fewer than 10 of the 80 families in the neighborhood had moved.
Dongsi Batiao, which literally translated means the eighth hutong in the Dongsi area, was first developed some 700 years ago during the Ming Dynasty (1271-1368). It has been listed as one of the capital’s 25 protected historical sites.
The redevelopment plan has been criticized by historians, experts and in editorials that point out the area is one of the city’s 25 protected historic sites and should be preserved.
Other courtyard homeowners such as Xia Jie, a folklore lover who has grown up in Dongsi Batiao and owns a 500-sqm siheyuan or four-sided courtyard, wants the redevelopment project permanently halted.
“Hutongs are the soul of Beijing. They must be preserved.” Xia, who has petitioned the government and is awaiting feedback, was quoted by the Beijing Times as saying.
However, local newspapers say that many of the local residents with no property rights of the courtyards are eager to move but upset with the compensation, with the lowest at 8,090 yuan a square meter.
“We can’t wait to move. Who said this is cultural relics, please come to my place and see for yourself,” said another resident who had lived 17 years in a shabby one-room shack.
Some residents say these traditional houses lack sufficient sanitation such as flushing toilets, bathrooms and are in unsafe condition. They deemed it’s a good chance to improve living conditions but the compensation is not enough to buy an apartment downtown where housing price can be twice as much as the compensation for per sq m.
The owner of the No. 9 courtyard, said she was satisfied with the compensation. The developer paid her more than 20,000 yuan for one square meter because the courtyard is her private property.
Bai Hua, deputy manager of Zhong Bao Jia Ye Property Development, would not confirm that demolition had been suspended as he had not received formal notice from the government.
The housing administration of Dongcheng District published an announcement in February saying two hutongs, the eighth and ninth of Dongsi, would be demolished.
The authority posted another notice on April 15, ordering all the residents to move out before May 26.
Covering an area of 80,000 square meters, the redevelopment of the area was approved by the municipal urban planning bureau in 2001 under the name of “renovation of endangered historic areas”.
Liu Qifei, an archaeologist and a member of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Congress, the local political advisory body, appealed to the municipal government in late April, asking that the project be stopped.
Liu also said the departments in charge of the project should be reprimanded for damaging the city’s image as an ancient capital.
The hutongs, traditional networks of small lanes and courtyards, have been rapidly vanishing in recent years as Beijing modernizes, triggering outcries to safeguard the city’s unique heritage.

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