(Part I was reproduced in last Tuesday’s edition)
Renovation project
In September 2005, Qinan Hall’s renovation project was completed.
“We cannot show a damaged Forbidden City to domestic and international tourists. In 2008, the Forbidden City will represent a type of sprit, and a clean, magnificent image.” “The imperial city’s image corresponded to the strength of the nation. After the full scale renovation project, the Forbidden City will return to its glory days experienced during the Kangxi and Qianlong eras,” experts said.
In 2003, reparation work on Tiananmen “chenglou” officially began. Due to the deterioration of water pipes, the residue left behind by summer rains were not fully cleaned away, causing a sort of “clog” against the walls of structures in the Square during the winter. The Beijing municipal government allocated almost 10 million yuan to eradicate the hidden problems. After 47 years of slowly losing the fight against nature’s winds and rains, the Monument to the People’s Heroes stands resurrected this year.
Today, “China ridge” roofs stand prominent on old buildings in the city, giving city residents a sense of pride.
In 2004, Yandun, one of the “five towns” associated with ancient Beijing, was given new breath. The Yongdingmen building rose again to tower over all, becoming the most prominent landmark in the southern city.
Among the nine major altars and eight major temples in old Beijing, the Xiannong Altar and part of the Temple of Heaven finished renovations, showing their “new” faces to the world in 2003.
After the Temple of Heaven’s “praying altar” was renovated in 2005, the spiritual place was returned to its original appearance and atmosphere, much like it was first imagined by Qing Dynasty Emperor Guangxu.
Bustling business
In 2008, Qianmen Street renovations will revive its initial bustling business atmosphere.
The first of the “nine gates” in Beijing is Zhengyang Gate. This gate’s tower and sword room were renovated in 2005, returning the look of the gate to its original brick splendour.
By the end of this year, the five pagodas in Jingshan Li would have shed their layers of deterioration, re-establishing their original magnificence.
The innate beauty of Houmen Bridge was exposed again in 2003.
The Temple of the Fire God, whose brilliance was hidden for almost half a century, stood up again after renovations completed in 2005.
In 2003, passersby could once again hear the strong ringing sound of the bell in Bell and Drum Towers.
In the past few years, of the 14 cultural sites situated along Beijing’s central axis, twelve have undergone detailed renovations.
In 1957, when the ancient Yongdingmen tower collapsed, Beijing’s central axis lost one of its most important sites. Beijing’s old city stood incomplete.
Yongdingmen Gate, located on the southern portion of Beijng’s central axis, has a long history. In the 32nd year of Ming Dynasty Emperor Jiajing’s reign (1552), Yongdingmen was first constructed. After 400 years, nature took its toll, and the immense tower collapsed.
For many Beijing residents, the loss of Yongdingmen meant the incompletion of Beijing’s old city.
In regards to repairing Yongdingmen, the two most important aspects to consider were traffic and money. When China won the bid to host the Olympics in 2008, Yongdingmen saw its chance. As most of the Olympic venues are located on the northern end of the city’s central axis, and Yongdingmen is located in the south, repairs to the gate must be made in order to ensure a thorough, complete central axis. As a major cultural tourist site, the gate is very important to Beijing’s history. As such, the municipal government decided to give the gate new life.
In 2003, the southern portion of Beijing’s central axis officially began renovations. Over ten companies were assembled to take on the task of renovating, greening, and managing the area.
Construction completed
With the “green light” from all managing entities, construction was completed in an amazingly short amount of time.
On 10 March, 2004, work officially began regarding renovations for Yongdingmen. Planners wanted to bring back the original splendor of the site, restoring relics to their initial look. Experts and historians thoroughly investigated the site’s history, and referred to the 1937 map of the tower to outline the restructuring work. Everything was designed so that Yongdingmeng would look as closely as possible to its appearance before its collapse. Even the original stone sign overhanging the gate was put to use, having been luckily rediscovered at the Beijing Cultural Relic Museum.
In September of 2004, the construction of Yongdingmen was finally completed. Almost half a century after its collapse, the gate fully stands up to its reputation and importance as the towering southern structure overlooking the southern portion of Beijing’s 7.8 kilometre long central axis.
With the “new” Yongdingmen in place, the central axis is complete. All of these renovations have allowed Beijing’s old landmark sites to reappear on the map.
Yongdingmen isn’t the only structure to be “renewed.”
The Ming Dynasty City Wall was started during the Ming Dynasty in 1419. The Chongwenmen section of the wall is 1.5 kilometres long. At the southeast corner is the country’s largest corner tower, one of the most important units of the City Wall. To date, about 2,600 people live around that area, going about their daily rituals surrounded by modern buildings and cars. The tower stands in the midst of all of this congestion, making for not only an unattractive site, but also a dangerous one. Nearby residents have taken parts of the wall to build parts of their homes, further deteriorating the ancient site. In 2001, the municipal government invested a large amount of money to repair and rebuild the corner tower, and relocating the current residents. One year later, the ancient site was revived, turning into a glorious city park.
Cultural relics were once only considered important for their historical value; now they are also emphasised for their important societal value.
Beijing hutongs and “four box houses” embody the spirit of Beijing. The municipal government began a campaign to protect these ancient landmarks, swapping the traditional train of thought of large-scale development for slow, small-scale change.
(to be continued)
Historical valure
The last large-scale development took place in the Qing Dynasty under Emperors Kangxi and Qianlong, but at that time, only royal residences were protected. Now, even ordinary people’s traditional courtyard houses (Siheyuan) are being protected to preserve their historical value.
Most of the courtyard houses were constructed during the Qing Dynasty and at the beginning of the People’s Republic of China. Although they are cultural landmarks identifying Beijing, they have not been protected as historical relics in China. Age and deterioration have taken its (their?) toll on the buildings. In March of 2003, the city’s cultural department began its work, seriously investigating the city’s courtyard houses one by one. After a year, the first 200 that satisfied the standards set by the commission regarding protection were given the status of “protected housing.” In July, a number of experts visited a group of courtyard houses to hang up signs labeling their protected status. Number 001 is located at Dongsishi’ertiao Street. To date, 658 such buildings have been identified with the special label.
On January 10th of this year, Beijing Municipal Cultural Heritage Bureau Director Mei Ninghua announced that protecting Beijing’s cultural relics will be an important point to be emphasized in the country’s 11th Five-Year Plan. This will inevitably include the protection of the streets and hutongs in the courtyard houses.
There are three main goals regarding the renovation and preservation of Beijing’s old district. One, to change the residential environment; two, to improve the quality of life for Chinese citizens; and three, to reveal the old city’s characteristic styles and features. The failure of any of these will mean the failure of the entire program. Experts agree that in order to preserve the relics’ legacies, people will have to change their mindsets. No longer should old buildings be rapidly torn down; ancient sites should be first examined, then protected.
Betterment of society
For example, during the construction on Gulou East Street last year, residents suggested that those apartments near the street, instead of being torn down, should be converted into store-front buildings, putting into effect micro changes for the betterment of society.
The idea of “microcirculation” is to slowly change the old to the new, in small increments. This is a complete three-hundred and sixty degree change from previous schools of thought, where huge and rapid development was actively pursued. Gulou East Street is the first street in Beijing that hasn’t been widened or constructed on a large-scale. As such, the area was able to return to its original splendor, similar to that of its business oriented historical legacy held during the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the People’s Republic of China.
Beijing is known for its historic importance. As such, residents believe that the capital city should also be a place suitable for living. In the quest for the harmonisation of old Beijing and modern development, Beijing has developed the following:
Baimi Byway is following the construction theme of “microcirculation,” where small improvements will be made, while slowly repairing the street’s native atmosphere;
The traditional Chinese residences built along Nancizi Street will be renovated to fit in nicely with the bustling Wanfujing Street;
Construction in Congwen District will continue to adhere to protection guidelines;
Regions that have been designated as culturally important have all been protected so as to preserve the area’s image and original glory.
From 2000 to 2004, Beijing completed several protection plans geared at preserving the city’s ancient architecture. Currently, there are still laws being written to enforce the protection of these important heritage sites. With the law on their side, old Beijing has nothing to fear as modernization steadily creeps in.
Development
Beijing’s development must take into account the preservation of cultural artifacts and buildings. As the city modernises to keep up with international changes, it is of the utmost importance to maintain the ancient legacy left behind from China’s long history.
Leaders have all emphasised the importance of protecting Beijing’s heritage sites and maintaining the city’s name as a place with much history to tell. New development of the capital must take into account how it will affect the atmosphere and environment of ancient sites; as such, thinking must evolve to minimise the negative impact of new development. This includes the coordination of traffic, laws, and construction work.
Experts and government officials are currently writing laws and procedures regarding the protection of old relics while keeping pace with development.
In January of 2005, China’s State Council passed a law concerning the overall planning of the capital city between 2004 and 2020. The city government developed strategies to enhance the city’s character, protecting it as the country’s capital, an international city, a culturally and historically loaded city, and a place that’s good for living.
Before, old buildings that were to be torn down were systematically marked with large white circles painted on the walls. Inside that circle, there was the word “Chai,”meaning, “tear down.” Now, with the new thinking mechanisms in place, large-scale development has been eradicated.
Construction in Beijing’s old city is expected to drop of an all-time low. Any originally planned large-scale development plans have been relocated to outside of the city’s old district, alleviating much of the pressure on the current educational, cultural, and health structures already standing.
Cultural protection policy
Currently, Beijing’s mid-term (2008-2015) cultural protection policy is rapidly being formulated.
Other plans for the protection of cultural sites and relics are one by one being supported and passed by government entities focused on the protection and preservation of Beijing’s old city atmosphere.
In 2005, plans regarding the Imperial Palace’s southern section included Zhenyangmen, which is, coincidentally, the northern border of what was voted a “World Heritage Site” in 1998. This is the first time that two World Heritage Site’s are neighbours.
Next year, the Hall of Great Harmony, the most important building along Beijing’s central axis, will complete renovations. The facilities used by China’s ancient royalty, including the Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven, and other historic sites are one by one being restored to their original royal splendor.
Old upper class residences are also being renovated.
Qianmen Street is now a pedestrian-only street, trolley cars are not patrolling the city, the capital city has become revived.
Strolling along Beijing’s central axis, elements of Ming and Qing Dynasties dangle before your eyes. All of the repairs and renovations revive the old district.
Heritage sites on the outskirts of Beijing are also being given attention to, including the famous tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasty. Relics that were uncovered from the tombs 50 years ago will be placed back where they came from, to be placed as their original intention.
The impressive Great Wall, with all of its repairs, looms snake-like, guarding over the city.
The passage of time carries its toll, but the shadow of ancient Beijing can still be seen all around the city. Now with all of the renovations and repairs completed or in the process of being finished, old Beijing will live again.
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MIA Olympic Special – What’s On
Friday, 22 February on E22 at 9pm , Sunday, 24 February on E22 at 10am (RPT) and on TVM at 525pm, and Monday, 25 February on E22 at 2.30pm (RPT) will feature the following:
Featured Event – Duathlon
The Malta Triathlon Association organized its first event for the 2008 Season last Sunday, 17 February, at the Mtarfa By-Pass. The Duathlon is favoured by those whose weak discipline is the swim or who feel that swimming is alien to their concept of training or racing. Internationally, Duathlon is a big multi-event sports. The Race was a ‘warm-up’ for the Duathlon Championships scheduled for the end of March as well as a test for the National Team who will be taking part in the African Triathlon Championships in the first week of March in Tunisia.
Highlighted event – Mountain Bike Race/Volleyball
Following the mizieb race which was held in mid-January another Mountain Bike event was held last Sunday this time at Pembroke. This event was which organised under the auspices of the Malta Cycling Federation once again had a good turnout.
The cameras of MIA Olympic Magazine made a visit to the Cottonera Sports Complex where the Volleyball League is held. During the past weekend games were played from both categories that is the Men’s and Ladies League.
MOC section
Since this year is an Olympic year this programme will start featuring interviews with athletes that will probably be in Beijing for this summer’s games.
Olympic Archive
A trip down memory lane will make us recall past editions of the Olympic Games.
Schedule available every week on www.nocmalta.org and on the Malta Independent newspaper every Tuesday. Produced in collaboration with TV Channel Education 22.