Many Chinese cities want to preserve old buildings to win global heritage status and, hence, attract tourist money.迷你倉 But Shanghai is different and Li Anlan explains why. China has 45 world heritage sites recognized by UNESCO, cultural, natural and “mixed” — only Italy has more, 49 — but none of them is in Shanghai. While many Chinese localities are obsessed with winning some kind of global heritage status to get tourist dollars, some experts say the “Pearl of the Orient” is not anxious to get UNESCO ranking. “Shanghai has no interest in applying for the (global) cultural heritage title, because preservation is something the city and its residents need themselves,” says Wu Jiang, vice president of Tongji University and author of the book “A History of Shanghai Architecture 1840-1949.” “Because for us, it’s not only world heritage, but our own,” he said at a recent forum on heritage preservation and urban development. “It carries our memories, and we need to preserve it as we preserve the heritage of our parents, grandparents and great-grandparent. “We preserve it not because it makes money, but because it’s part of our memories in history,” he added. Shanghai’s major concern is preserving inhabited buildings and areas that are of cultural significance and still serve a function, Wu says. “These face critical problems and challenges.” Heritage has two meanings, he says. “On one hand, it belongs to all mankind, while at the same time it belongs to the city itself. Some heritage sites have more significance for the country, the people, or maybe just a person.” Competition to be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site is intense, and officials in many places are lined up to apply for the title, Wu says. “Preservation is our own mission and it doesn’t make any difference whether there is a title or not,” he says. There are several common misunderstandings when it comes to protecting heritage in the context of urban development. When urban expansion conflicts with heritage preservation, many people think that’s a contradiction and one side always suffers some loss, he says. “But protecting the history can also be profitable, and the contradiction can be resolved.” Wu cites as a positive example of the tourist complex Xintiandi, which many preservationists dislike because shikumen (stone-gated) neighborhoods were razed, a few attractive buildings were gutted, renovated, preserved and turned into trendy establishments. “Xintiandi shows that continuous protection is not necessarily in conflict with development, if developers care enough and know how to convert historical and cultural fortunes into economic resources,” he says. Preservation can mean considerable investment that is not outweighed by returns and new wealth. Wu suggests bundling profitable preservation with unprofitable preservation. “Paris is not a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it’s residential. Every street and neighborhood has its values, and for the goals of world heritage protection, that’s the beginning, not the end,” says Lin Zhihong, a specialist on UNESCO World Heritage and author of “World Heritage and Historical Cities in the Perspective of Cultural Diversity.” Lin cites the example of how Paris has rejuvenated its east side, reviving heritage while retaining value. The focus was on improving life, not enacting regulations in the Vision Plan for儲存倉Paris-East and Faubourg St Antoine Regeneration. The plan called for blending new elements into old neighborhoods where locals would remain and stay active. “Residents and traditional businesses could stay, and new people and businesses could enter as well, so it’s a process of understanding competing urban elements,” Lin says. The plan preserved the original urban landscape, struck a balance between residential and commercial use, upgraded living conditions and retained public space. Another common misunderstanding is that beautiful heritage sites can be turned into tourism projects, while those that are old, rundown and unattractive can be ignored, Wu says. “The ‘good’ or ‘bad’ evaluations a building gets today are based on modern commercial standards, not historic value,” he says. Some rundown buildings of poor quality are high in historic and cultural value, he notes. “The older and unmaintained the building gets, the shabbier it appears on the surface, so we need to spend time researching to see if it has real cultural value, instead of just taking it down.” The old parts of town in major metropolitan cities have been undergoing redevelopment to meet business and residential needs. “It should not be a demolition or a reconstruction, but a regeneration that does not ignore what’s already there,” Wu says. In the past decade, Beijing suffered from destructive urban redevelopment that destroyed many ancient parts of the city, says journalist Wang Jun, author of “Beijing Record.” “In 1949, there were more than 3,000 hutongs (alleyways). In the 1990s, it went down to 2,000. In 2003 the number was only 1,574, and it’s still decreasing year by year,” Wang points out. If hutongs in preservation areas are not protected, one day they will be demolished, Wang says. “This is not the right way to change history.” “Reconstruction is a natural growing process that retains original tiers, in an inheritance process and representation of a lifestyle,” Wang adds. “Cultural recognition is important in preserving Beijing’s dignity. The old town was the last treasure of China’s ancient capital construction. That cultural heritage is irreplaceable and our generation should not be its terminator.” Old architecture can be renovated and made functional, Wu says. Adding air-conditioning, kitchens and plumbing makes old houses more livable. One example is the Hutong Bubble 32, a project by MAD Architects led by renowned architect Ma Yansong. The first bubble appeared in a small courtyard in 2009. The stainless steel bubble with an alien creature-like appearance has a staircase leading to the roof terrace and there is a toilet under the staircase. The idea was to improve the living condition for hutong residents, allowing them to continue living in the old neighborhoods and in time inventions like this will become part of the city’s history. Interesting old wooden structures can be turned into coffee shops, for example, though there cannot be open fires inside, architect Ma once noted. Giving new life to old buildings need not be complicated, new strategies and functions can be explored, according to experts. “The one premise is that valuable old heritage buildings cannot be destroyed to make way for new ones,” Wu says. “You can change a new building after it’s built up, but you can never save an old building that’s been removed.” 迷你倉最平
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