Why do tourists come to Beijing, an ancient city with over 5,000 years of history? They are here for the cultural history, Hutongs, courtyard houses and teahouses. They are here to stroll along the Hutongs, the Deshengmengnei Road, and old buildings near Penggu Road, and to search for peaceful human spirits.

In just under four years from now, crowds will pour into the ancient city to watch the 2008 Olympic Games. Until then, anyone who’s in Beijing is now experiencing what happens when a city is taken over by urban property developers: dry air, traffic congestion and dusty construction sites. The old beauty of this city is nowhere to be seen.

This is all part of the so-called, “Demolish Old Buildings And Build New Ones” policy, according to a Huaxia Jingwei Net report. Representatives from the National People’s Congress and Political Consultation Convention described the new Beijing with varying degrees of enthusiasm: “Beijing’s tall buildings now have more individuality. The city is more colorful, and its night scene is getting better.”

Chinese workers demolish a building in downtown Beijing. (Goh Chai Hin/AFP/Getty Images)

“I don’t seem to recognize many places every time I come here. Many places I used to know seem to have changed so much.”

“Beijing’s roads have become wider, buildings are getting taller and there are more cars.”

“Beijing is one the capital cities in the world that changes the fastest.”

These casual comments point to a tragic loss of culture and ancient history: the ancient Beijing city that used to be so rich in its humanity no longer exists.

Hutongs

Hutong, the narrow pedestrian street between houses, is quickly disappearing. Hutongs are symbols of Beijing’s historical and folk tradition; local communities gathered in hutong intersections. In 1949, there were approximately 7,000 hutongs in Beijing. But in the year 2000, just over 2,000 hutongs remained. The number of hutongs is declining at a rate of 600 per year. Today, many hutongs that were once well-known, such as the Biandan Hutong, Kusi Hutong and Beixincang No. 1-5 hutongs, are nowhere to be found.

Courtyard Houses Disappearing Under Development Pressure

A courtyard house is one of the most characteristic forms of housing in old Beijing. The basic structure of a courtyard house was first developed in the Liao Dynasty. During several hundreds years of evolution in the Jin, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasty, the courtyard houses accumulated layers of knowledge and culture in fields such as architecture, humanity, philosophy, human relations and politics.

In 1949, the total area of courtyard houses was 17 million square meters. When renovations peaked during the 1990s, the area occupied by courtyard houses plummeted at a rate of 1 million square meters between 1990 and 2000, until last year, when it shrunk to 3 million square meters. Relatively well-known courtyard houses, such as the houses that famous writers Guo Moruo and Lao She used to live in, have managed to preserve their traditional function as sightseeing spots; but lesser-known and worn-out courtyard houses face a fated destruction. To the dismay of scholars in cultural studies, the genuine courtyard houses are being replaced by nondescript, fake antique-colored house roofs meant to simulate the old architecture.

City Walls

Beijing once claimed the austere protection of 47 original city gates and towers where archers and watchmen were stationed. Today, only three remain. Xizhi Gate, Dongzhi Gate, Xuanwu Gate, Anding Gate and Yongding Gate are just a few of the 44 walls demolished over the years. Chongwen Gate, built in 1439 and stretching a length of over 1,500 meters, is the longest remaining Ming Dynasty city wall in the city of Beijing today. The demolished city walls paint a sad portrait of an ancient city where globalization and modern technology have ruined its historical purpose and traditional character.

Streets

Old Drum Tower Street is one example of an unofficial policy that has dragged on since the 1980s: demolish first, worry about rebuilding later. Government rebuilding regulations state that after rebuilding Old Drum Tower Street, the “traditional Old Drum Tower Street style will be restored.” But 19 experts submitted proposals to the World Inheritance Congress, pointing out that the Old Drum Tower Street, west of the old city’s center, as well as the Drum Tower and Bell Tower, is located within the Shishahai Historic Preservation District; any widening or destruction of streets such as this one will destroy the city’s view and structure.

Chinese workers fill a bucket with concrete on the site of the National Olympic Stadium in Beijing. (Katharina Hesse/Getty Images)

What’s more, it’s hard to believe that the city will follow through with the preservation regulations. Post-demolition rebuilding requires much skill, money and patience, which are undoubtedly hard to find with an event like the Olympic Games in the near future. The process requires the cooperation of construction companies and expert technicians, as well as a lot of financing, since the cost of preserving and rebuilding an old structure usually exceeds that of building a brand new one. Having chosen a new location and prepared extensive maps, the technicians must number each part of the old building, including doors, columns, tiles and carvings, in order to keep track of them after the building is demolished.

If the two procedures of destroying and rebuilding do not occur simultaneously, some parts of the building are bound to be damaged as time passes. And, if the structure is not rebuilt immediately, the project will end with no further news or development.

Current situations of some rebuilt architecture

Rufuli Skyway Overpass was the only skyway overpass in Beijing. In 1998, the Xuanwu district government demolished it in order to expand the food market streets. The government promised the community they would rebuild the skyway overpass inside the Taoranting Garden – but so far, there are no signs of a skyway overpass anywhere in Beijing.

The house that Cai Yuanpei (former president of Peking University) used to live in, a cultural relic preservation building, would have been demolished in November 2000, with the promise to “rebuild after demolishing.” But, the Cultural Relic Department arrived in time to stop this act. After a dispute, the property remained unchanged.

Renowned Qing Dynasty novelist, Cao Xueqin’s former dwelling used to be located at 207 Guangqumen Avenue in Beijing. Not long after the academic circles recognized it as the former dwelling of Cao Xueqin, it was demolished due to road construction. Some departments promised to move the dwelling to the north and rebuild it as a memorial hall. Yet there are no signs that this will actually happen.

But today’s Beijing faces the reality of living in an increasingly globalized world. By demolishing the old dwellings, hutongs, and city walls, old Beijing’s legends, stories, and cultural identity are being sacrificed for a new political and economic agenda.