Disappearing Hutongs: The AP's Take On Gulou's Impending Facelift

Gentrification and Gulou. Those two words seem destined to go hand in hand. The upcoming planned demolition of the hutongs around the Drum and Bell Towers is the subject of Louise Watt's article – "History vs. History As China Plans To Rebuild Past" – over on the AP.org's Big Story. Here's a taster:

"In a corner of old Beijing, the government may soon be both destroying history and remaking it. District officials want to re-create a piece of China's glorious dynastic past by rebuilding a square near the Drum and Bell towers in 18th-century Qing Dynasty fashion. To do it, they will demolish dozens of scuffed courtyard homes that preservationists say have themselves become a part of a cultural history that is fast disappearing as construction transforms the capital."

You can read the rest of the article, and see the slideshow, here.

Photo: AP/Andy Wong