While centuries-old crowded and shabby residences will be gone for ever, sources say Qianmen district - one of the last remnants of old Beijing - will keep its unique cultural flavour after the coming urban renovation.
Sources with the Beijing Municipal Development Planning Commission confirmed yesterday that the renovation, expected to start later this year, will make it a priority to maintain the area's well-known cultural heritage of quadrangles, lanes and the ancient retail centre of Dazhalan.
In the 1.45-square-kilometre target area all construction in the designated "protection zone of historical and cultural heritage" will take the form of quadrangles along lanes.
Most quadrangles in the zone will be furnished versions of the originals. In the portion not included in the "protection zone," other forms of modern multi-floor buildings will be allowed.
The final design plan for Qianmen district's renovations is expected to be available before September.
"We have not heard much about the plan, and we would like to wait and see," said Sang Qi, an official with the Beijing Municipal People's Political Consultative Conference, the leading political consultative of the city.
The planning commission has voiced much concern over the protection of cultural and historical heritage as the ancient city transforms itself into a modern international metropolis.
The commission has often urged the municipal government to think of better ways to renovate districts - ways that integrate modernity and tradition, instead of leaving "isolated islands" of historical structures in a sea of modern buildings.
But the renovation will surely mean better lives for the 20,000 people living in the area, said Liu Guisheng, vice-president of the Beijing Municipal General Institute of Engineering Design and Research.
"One simple reason is that all residences, stronger and more comfortable than ever, will be equipped with convenient utility facilities," said Liu.
Of the registered 35,000 rooms in the Qianmen district, none is "complete and suitable for human dwelling" in the strict sense. Over half are classified by local authorities as "dangerous."
But all these headaches will be a thing of the past when the renovation is successfully completed, said Liu.
(Xinhua News Agency August 22, 2002)
