China is yearning for urbanization and has demolition happening in many parts of the country. Many buildings and old architectures, many that are important to the culture, are being demolished. The citizens have contrasting opinions, let us look at both the bright and dark side of the story.
China is known to be the most populous state in the world today. Its population reaches over 1,381 billion people. It is also the second largest state by the area of the land and if calculated by the total area – the third largest state. China has a very rich nature, rivers, mountain ranges, forest steppes, desserts, and many more sights.
People in areas in China that are going under reconstruction are very unhappy since their homes either already were or will be in the near future demolished. They are being evicted, in Shanghai from 1993 up to 2003 an enormous number of 2.5 million people were evicted. Much of the reconstruction boomed due to the preparation for the 2008 Summer Olympics that were to take place in Beijing, China. Some have to move out of places where they have spent their whole life. They say that private property is just being ceased and that none of them want their property to be taken away from them, they want everything to stay the way it was before. People are not given a choice and to it all, no compensation. The ordinary people do not have a voice and right to speak up. People go to their local property registration offices but they refuse to give them the documents they are entitled to receive. The local government is making much money by giving little or no compensation to the people whose homes are being demolished. It is a scary sight for people walking around in China since there are buildings on which there are words painted that spell “demolish” in Chinese. Such buildings are to be brought down by the demolition workers and the situation keeps getting worse.
All of these reconstructions do not necessarily need to be happening in order to get tourists flowing or for urbanization to happen. Preserving culture and keeping what was cherished to that day is what people should be doing. Cultural preservation is now facing a big problem since many historical sights, monuments and attraction are also being bulldozed down. Of course, we might say, what if there is no benefit in preserving the old and not producing anything new. Well, ancient cities and artifacts are some things that people nowadays cherish very much. As written before, people do not want to leave their settlements where they were raised in, it is their property and a place they want to stay, after all, how would you feel if you were forced out of your comfortable shell? The state does not consider the people to have a voice, if that is something that could not be changed, then the property they choose should only be allowed to be demolished under the permission of the property owner. Citizens are very disappointed with this situation in the country, the state is doing whatever it desires without taking note of the thoughts of the society about it. People starve and most say that without the help of their relatives they do not know where they might have ended up. They also say that the state does not give enough money or a decent compensation in order to buy the cheapest home to have a place to live. The citizens that got their homes taken away say that the constructors break, rob, smash, and steal, they also say that the government and the businessmen work together. There have also been cases where people were beaten by the demolition crew. That is when it gets over the top. Citizens who are all equal to each other are under forced eviction because of the unjust government which does not take care of its people but only wants to get rich, do business and receive an enormous profit. It seems there is no end to it since citizens tried to do something about it but were ignored. The Chinese government is working illegally, its actions are not permissible. Many protests and demonstrations are being held by the residents of the areas where people have had enough of demolition.
As a perfect example and deeper explanation of what is going on in China, we can take a look at an incident that happened not long ago, a shocking story that could be called a horror one.
On the 8th of January, 2016, unexpectedly, crewmen from a demolition group showed up at a hospital in China. Bringing down the building, the crew buried people in the hospital by demolishing part of the building with patients inside. Of course, there were major and minor injuries and to add to that, a lot of equipment was ruined. “Hospital staff told reporters equipment worth $600,000 was damaged” (“China Hospital Demolished 'with People Inside'”, BBC News). There were many complaints towards the government which stated that the hospital was warned and notified about the upcoming demolition. However it did turn out that “The hospital was evacuated prior to demolition, and there were no casualties” (“China Hospital Demolished 'with People Inside'”, BBC News).
The Disneyland that is being planned to open soon, this year in June. It is located in Shanghai, a place where most of the demolition is happening. The future theme park is surrounded by building that by no means should be there as in the eyes of businessmen since the territory could be used for bigger and bolder business. There are many buildings that are considered to be illegal there so companies are really putting an eye on the territory as well as grabbing onto the opportunity to raise great profit. Residents of the area were said to be informed about the demolition and were also told that forced eviction would only take place if the residents would refuse to leave. Let us also take note that forced eviction is strictly forbidden by the law in China.
Even though we have only looked at demolition from a negative view, we might want to overlook a few more situations and think over whether there might be anything positive about taking down old building and making the territory more eligible for living, after all, we are all in need of renovations once in a while, but of course, when it is all after our own decision. Though the government and businessmen want to demolish the territory by Disneyland in Zhangjiang which was started on March 1st, 2016, they are looking at the perspective of it and how it would positively influence the environment. Trees are supposed to be planted and parks are planned to be made so people could have this amazing area to spend quality time with friends and family. Officials say that it will be a great space to make into a place for public exercise and relax. “Chuansha New Town is planning to pull down buildings covering 300,000 square meters near the theme park” (Yan, “Massive Demolition Work under Way near Shanghai Disneyland to Remove Illegal Buildings”). The director of the theme park has the same opinion about building a better environment. To him making old houses into better ones and landscaping is one of the solutions to a better and brighter future for China.
Every city renews itself from time to time. Any old buildings are not worth saving since new ones will bring great profit and have outstanding designs. That is exactly how businessmen see it. As a real example of such transformation, we can take a closer look at Tianzifang also known as Tian Zi Fang, located in Shanghai. It was once a place of residential architecture and factories, originally built in the 1930s, but when the economy in China boomed, demolition took place in about 2006 and new café’s, bars, boutiques, and restaurants were built. Many old houses are being torn down today in order to build new modern buildings destroying the cultural sights, so a famous artist Chen Yifei proposed to the government to preserve areas like Taikang Lu with its traditional architecture and its ambiance as well. “Tianzifang was able to prevent demolition” (Sharon, Kasinitz, and Chen, “Global Cities, Local Streets: Everyday Diversity from New York to Shanghai”). .Nowadays, it is a tourist attraction filled with cafe’s, housing bars, design studios, craft shops, boutiques, galleries and many more places that call upon visitors. “One of the Shanghai highlights is the old residential buildings called ‘shikumen’, literally ‘stone doors’, which reflects a confluence of architectural tastes” (“Tianzifang”, www.travelchinaguide.com). The city itself had a history full of events. Many artists, doctors, workers settled down at the area and to this day it is like a home to their specialties. The city also has remainders of the French style since the “Taikang Road area was built up by French Concession expansion” (“Tianzifang”, www.travelchinaguide.com). Tianzifang has given itself to art and is actually named after the first known artist, painter of China, Tian Zifang. The word “fang” means mill, quarter workshop or lane. Tianzifang would not differ from the other places like it if not for the atmosphere of art and architecture. That is also one of the main reasons that this place is a survivor to the demolition surrounding it. It holds one of the most precious charms of the cultural heritage.
Another place very similar to Tian Zi Fang is Xintiandi which is located in the center of Shanghai city, two kilometers from Tian Zi Fang. Nowadays it is a big urban attraction with its wonderful culture and history left and preserved. As in Tian Zi Fang, Xintiandi also has the famous shikumen buildings but they are somewhat different than all the others. When visiting this place you will be in the atmosphere of the 1920s to the modern days at the same time. It is a mix of styles from ancient to the 21st century. The Shikumen Building used to be a residential building but people were evicted. In the year of 1997, Xin Tian Di decided to change that and go back to how it was before. He began to rebuild the Shikumen buildings and bringing the places of residence back to life. Xintiandi has two separate parts, it is divided into the North Block and the South Block. If you want to take a look at the modern life, you are welcome to go to the South Block. It is filled with entertainments, shopping centers and leisure complexes with an area of twenty-five square meters. Even though that might sound like any other modern tourist place on earth, it has a wonderful glass wall building that attracts many visitors. The North Block is where all the ancient magic of architecture and old lifestyle is held. Tourists, while walking around, appear to find themselves in the ancient world of China, where there are beautiful Shikumen building filled with amazing designs inside-out. As said before, the old is either renewed or preserved, but new stuff is added to. There are many stores, restaurants that offer an unlimited choice of worldwide cuisine. Even though you might be in China, you can savor the tasty food of France, Japan, Italy, Germany and many others. “The typical Shikumen buildings of old Shanghai seem to be telling beautiful stories about the history and culture of the city” (“Xin Tian Di”, www.travelchinaguide.com).
China is living through different times today, some people are suffering while others are living up to become millionaires. The government does not care about people, which is one main thing that has to change. Overall demolition is not good but not bad either. Demolition should be done correctly with the agreement of the society.
Works Cited
Yan, Ting. “Massive Demolition Work under Way near Shanghai Disneyland to Remove Illegal Buildings.” South China Morning Post. March 1, 2016. Accessed May 05, 2016.
“China Hospital Demolished 'with People Inside'” BBC News. January 8, 2016. Accessed May 05, 2016.
“Tianzifang.” Travel China Guide. Accessed May 06, 2016.
Zukin, Sharon, Philip Kasinitz, and Xiangming Chen. Global Cities, Local Streets: Everyday Diversity from New York to Shanghai. 2016. doi:Sharon Zukin, Philip Kasinitz, Xiangming Chen.
“Xin Tian Di.” Travel China Guide. Accessed May 06, 2016.
