2010 Mar 29 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.
As is usual in these situations, the paper was unable to obtain official comment from the authorities, but the article says, “The reporter overheard a policeman complain to the owner of the meeting venue that the event was widely publicized. He was one of several policemen at the scene Saturday to supervise the cancellation. ‘Why should they post an online ad for the meeting?’ the policeman asked rhetorically."
Indeed. Why would you want to publicize a public meeting?
According to the Global Times article, the Gulou redevelopment “calls for the protection and reuse of historical buildings, similar to the model of the Qianmen street south of Tiananmen Square, which was transformed into a Old-Beijing-themed strip mall that even its developer disavows.”
You can read our original story about the redevelopment plans here.
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Gulou Plans Finalized: No Additional Demolition Planned
On-again off-again rumors of a massive redevelopment around the Bell and Drum towers have been circulating all year, ever since theBeijinger.com reported in January that the Gulou area was facing imminent demolition. This morning both the Global Times and China Daily reported that plans to demolish the hutongs around the historic towers to make way for a “Time Cultural City” have been “officially abandoned.”
Beijingers Debate Why Preservation Matters in Light of Gulou Redevelopment
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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.
danedwards
Re: Gulou Meeting "Squelched"
The UK Telegraph also reported on the Gulou redevelopment over the weekend: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/7532375/Historical-...
Register and post your own events on the beijinger website.
cowboy123
Re: Gulou Meeting "Squelched"
Qianmen is a monstrosity now.. don't do this...!