Beijing Continues to Reinvent Itself Using Its Own Past

Beijing's latest effort to modernize itself through its past will call upon the city's top historic relic (among others) to help secure its future.

Monday's session of the People's Congress announced their support for the development of a "cultural zone" in the area surrounding the Palace Museum, one of a number of local historic sites planned to be harnessed as an economic and cultural "engine".

The announced initiative will raise the rate of protection of Dongcheng District historical sites to 80 percent within three years. Up to a quarter of Dongcheng is considered to contain historical sites that include the Imperial Ancestral Temple, and the Imperial Archives as well as the massive Palace Museum at the heart of the city.

The initiative will also bring development to residential areas surrounding the Palace Museum, promising to bring change by year's end. Overhead power lines have been relocated underground while complete coverage for commercial services such as grocery stores and O2O delivery are promised to local residents by 2020.

Other historical hotspots will also see further development as part of Beijing's urban rejuvenation.

An urban waterway recently brought back to life in Qianmen (shown above) may see further development at its pedestrian walking street (pictured at top), home to a number of Beijing's oldest businesses situated next to newly-built traditional-looking buildings. Beijing is also already planning to restore a number of its waterways.

Meanwhile, authorities have proudly reported that a crackdown on the overcrowded Nanluogu Xiang (South Luo Old Alley) that shuttered 154 out of its 235 businesses had the effect of raising the proportion of the street's total cultural and creative businesses to almost 55 percent.

At the same time, the cultural value of the Wangfujing pedestrian street will be bolstered by this month's opening of the nearby WF Central. Touted as a "consumer, culture and art center," the mall will be the location for the Victoria's Secret flagship retail store as well as 23 restaurants, including The Cheesecake Factory.

And while some 9,878 buildings were torn down in Wangfujing to make room for places like WF Central, Longfu Temple is likewise undergoing a similar change that saw its Shibeifang historical site dismantled on Nov 13.

The conflation of local culture and history in order to bring about economic and social growth is also clear in Beijing's boom of bookstores and libraries, some of which are located inside cultural sites.

And it doesn't end there. Building new buildings in old styles has also been apparent in the upgrade of Fuchengmen as well as the development of "Beijing old-style street experience" tourist attractions.

In a year that has seen Beijing irrevocably change its skyline, the city's drive to renew itself has ironically made it more reliant on its past.

Images: Chinashande.com, yododo.com, the Beijinger

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