2010 Mar 26 STOP PRESS: CHP Meeting on Gulou Redevelopment Canceled
On Monday we reported on a public meeting this Saturday called by the Beijing Cultural Heritage Protection Center (CHP) to discuss controversial plans to “restore” the area around Gulou and build an underground “Beijing Time Cultural City.” The CHP just announced the meeting has been canceled.
The CHP was unable to specify the reasons for the cancellation, saying only the event has been called off for “various reasons.”
TheBeijinger.com was one of the first English-language media outlets to report on the plans for Gulou back in January, and we have been following the story closely since then. Although other reports have appeared in the press, and extensive demolition has taken place to the north and south of the Drum Tower, obtaining details on what exactly is planned for the area has proven difficult.
More information as it comes to hand.
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Beijingers Debate Why Preservation Matters in Light of Gulou Redevelopment
In a nation where millions still live below the poverty line, why should locals be concerned with preserving the physical remains of China's past? An audience of just under 100 mainly foreign Beijing residents gathered yesterday at Capital M overlooking Tiananmen Square to discuss this question at the roundtable Vanishing Beijing: Why Preservation Matters, organized by the Beijing Cultural Heritage Protection Center (CHP).
CHP Gulou Proposal: An Alternative to Wholesale Demolition
Back in January theBeijinger.com was one of the first English-language news outlets to report on plans to redevelop Beijing’s historic Gulou area and replace the hutongs with a “Time Cultural City.” Since then a public meeting on the redevelopment called by the Beijing Cultural Heritage Protection Center (CHP) in March was forcibly canceled by police and the wrecking balls have started swinging, with much of the area north of Gulou already destroyed. The CHP hasn’t given up the fight however, and late last week they released a long official statement outlining an alternative plan to wholesale demolition.
Vanishing Beijing - Roundtable on why preservation matters
Beijing’s redevelopment is constantly in the news as the last vestiges of the old city disappear before our eyes. Now English speakers have the chance to become more involved in the issue with the Beijing Cultural Heritage Protection Center (CHP) event Vanishing Beijing: Why Preservation Matters.
Pessimistic Outlook for Gulou
Following the forced cancellation of the March 27 public meeting to discuss the fate of Gulou, a more low-key Foreign Correspondent’s Club of China (FCCC) meeting was successfully held last night (March 29) at the Beijing Cultural Heritage Protection Center (CHP) office in Fangjia Hutong. The talk was an hour and a half Q & A between CHP founder and cultural heritage law expert, He Shuzhong, and a group of 20 concerned homeowners, tenants and journalists.
Gulou Meeting "Squelched"
On Friday we broke the news that the public meeting called last Saturday by the Beijing Cultural Heritage Protection Center (CHP) to discuss controversial plans to “restore” the area around Gulou had been canceled. The CHP was only able to say the event had been canceled for “various reasons,” but today the Global Times has a report stating “police squelched” the meeting.
mattman_183
Re: STOP PRESS: CHP Meeting on Gulou Redevelopment Canceled
This Is China is the reason.
admin
Re: STOP PRESS: CHP Meeting on Gulou Redevelopment Canceled
frankly replacing the drum tower with an underground mall sounds like a lovely idea.
Then they can widen that damn pesky Gulou Dongdajie so that officials can get to their renovated courtyards on the west side a lot quicker, not to mention create a north-south flyover so that automobiles can go directly off the second ring to the banks of scenic Houhai in mere minutes.
I'm sure they can rebuild a reasonably authentic replica of the drum tower somewhere in Yanqing that people can visit while out for a country drive in their black Benzes. Do not try to obstruct the relentless hammer of progress!
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danedwards
Re: STOP PRESS: CHP Meeting on Gulou Redevelopment Canceled
It's about time they converted the Forbidden City into luxury apartments too.
Register and post your own events on the beijinger website.
latino
Re: STOP PRESS: CHP Meeting on Gulou Redevelopment Canceled
Cool! There are never enough mac donalds,
then the drum tower will become a drum n' bass nightclub where we can party all night!
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