Protection of relics hindering reconstruction of shantytowns
Print Edition
While China’s urbanization has spurred the country’s economic growth, its progress has not been smooth in historical cities like Kaifeng, where developers have come up against restrictions on protected relics.
They may attract millions of tourists every year, but the ancient attractions in Kaifeng in central China’s Henan Province are also hindering reconstruction of old blocks of crudely built and poorly maintained houses.
Currently, 100,000 households in the city are still living in run-down areas. In 2012, Kaifeng’s gross domestic stood at 120.71 billion yuan (US$17.7 billion) and per capita disposable income at 17,545 yuan, both ranking among the lowest cities in the province.
Kaifeng initiated shantytown rebuilding in 2008, hoping to help relocate residents from shabby houses to bright apartments. But to date, work on only 10,000 households has been completed.
Kong Xiangcheng, deputy director of Housing and Urban-Rural Development in Kaifeng, says the major challenge for rebuilding the city stems from construction restrictions of protective sites.
As a 1,700-year-old ancient capital, Kaifeng served as the country’s political center for seven dynasties and possesses numerous historic and cultural relics including 14.4-km-long defensive walls and city ruins.
The Chinese Cultural Relics Protection Law states that the ruins should not be moved or damaged during the demolition and rebuilding process.
To maintain the overall historical appearance and boost the tourism industry, the city’s government requests that all buildings should not be taller than 15 meters, which means there is not enough living space for all residents living in the city center.
In the city’s Shunhe Hui Autonomous District, the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) Dongda Mosque, one of the oldest sites in the area, is boxed in by row upon row of old houses sheltering over 20,000 people of the Hui ethnic group.
Zhang Guangju, a 74-year-old Hui, insists that residents should be allowed to move back when the rebuilding is completed. “It’s our tradition that cannot be breached,” he said, stressing that Muslims like to live around mosques for worship and other religious activities.
However, under cultural relics protection law, all shabby houses near the ancient mosque should be pulled down. Areas less than 150 meters from the building are classed as preservation zones in which no construction is allowed.
According to the shantytown rebuilding plan, all these households will be settled in a residential community nearby, and the block surrounding the mosque will include streets dedicated to halal food, Muslim shopping and demonstrations of ethnic culture. But implementing the plan is not easy.
“We invited a property developer but the company rejected the offer after estimating that expenditure for cultural relic protection would be around 300 million yuan,” a district official said.
Kaifeng has 247 historical sites with houses dotted around them. “Extra expenditure resulting from preservation of cultural relics and thin profits from developing the area have scared away many real estate companies. With no developers joining the reconstruction project in the old urban districts, progress is lagging,” said the official.
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