City to boost cultural protection in the 'burbs
2008-8-23
SHANGHAI'S urban planning authority has developed tougher rules designed to bring historic preservation standards up to the same level in the suburbs as they are in the downtown.
The plan, unveiled yesterday by the Shanghai Urban Planning and Administrative Bureau, covers 32 suburban sites of historic importance and will soon be approved by city government, officials said.
"One of the problems is that we need to attract greater investment to protect local heritage and also improve our management of the cultural preservation system," Wu Jiang, the bureau's vice director, told a news conference.
In the downtown, much of that investment capital has come from private sources, and strict rules are needed to make sure commercial interests don't damage historic elements. In one recent example, a major hotel group was forced to restore an old lawn at a landmark inn after it ripped up the grass to build a restaurant.
Among the suburban areas targeted for greater protection are Cangcheng Town in Songjiang District, Zhouqiao in Jiading District and Qibao Town in Minhang District, which are home to buildings dating back several hundred years. Planning bureau officials did not, however, reveal exactly how the rules would be changed to better protect these areas.
They did say the new effort is the result of years of research by architectural and urban planning experts, who found that the rules covering historic preservation in the suburbs weren't as strong as those in the downtown.
Stringent conservation rules for 12 historical heritage spots in center city were enacted by city government in 2005.
Mao Jialiang, the planning bureau's director, told reporters that the city's historic buildings are going through a transitional phase. Many former government offices and old private residences are being turned into restaurants, boutiques and nightclubs, especially along the Bund.
With investment from developers, these culturally important buildings are being renovated in a way that preserves their original architecture while putting them to new use.
Mao said about two-thirds of the buildings along the Bund's historic core area have now been renovated, leased out and turned into office buildings and high-end entertainment spots.
But sometimes the link between private investment and architectural heritage breaks down.
The urban planners said yesterday that authorities launched an investigation into a renovation project at Hengshan Moller Villa Hotel on Shaanxi Road S. in July after receiving reports from a local newspaper that an old lawn had been torn up.
Authorities told Shanghai Daily that hotel management was ordered to restore the lawn, which was protected under historic preservation rules. Officials also ordered the hotel to stop building an exterior solarium that was to be used for dining.
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article...241&type=Metro
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