Back in June, I posted the apartment blueprints for the reconstruction of Kashgar’s Old City. Now it seems that the local government has been erecting billboards that defend the demolition, at least according to this photograph passed on to me from the Chinese internets. The sign below, titled “UNESCO commends Kashgar Old City’s reconstruction as completely respecting people’s lives,” explains that it “totally conforms to international removal and renovation principle.” Suspiciously, however, someone has pasted on the word “renovation” throughout the English translation, almost as an afterthought.
Yeah, when we were there was asked about the destruction - our first guide was unhappy about it and felt it was destroying the feel of the city (he didn't live there) and out second guide felt that the city was doing a good job of rebuilding according to the old standards and allowing people with the larger houses to fix them on their own (He lived nearby). It's impossible to know how good this is as numerous lives will be made better while thousands lose their standard of life. We wish we could have really talked to the locals, and the to be able to talk to them after they've got indoor plumbing and then 10 years later - we think they will miss what they had before the government decided to make their lives better....
Interesting post.
Again and again in China one finds the government justifying its policies with references to highly esteemed foreign bodies, societies and persons.
Its easy and unimpeachable. After all, who is going to stand up for the UN and refute the claim that the UN approves of such "renovations"?
To my mind, the issue is not whether a given non-resident agrees or disagrees with the policy. This part of Kashgar harks back to the days of the Silk Road, and represents an oasis of ancient Central Asian culture in modern China. As a multi-ethnic society with a rich and fascinating history of interaction between different peoples, China has a responsibility to help maintain such historic areas rather than tear them down or depeople them.
Even if some or most of the residents are eventually relocated and satisfied with their new flats, old Kashgar -- with its mosques, sites of former madrassas and hundreds of unique old buildings and dwellings -- deserves to be preserved for future generations. Sadly, once people have been moved (read: forced) out of their homes, much of the old town can then be demolished and much of the rest made into something closer to a museum than to a living habitat.
In fact, there is no good reason to knock much of it down. Several unconvincing reasons have been trotted out by the government over time: The dwellings are unsafe in the event of an earthquake; It is an eyesore that reflects badly on Kashgar when visited by tourists; The residents actually want newer, more modern dwellings, etc. And the latest tall-tale is that the UN has given its blessing to this "renovation."
It seems obvious to me, at least, that the government authorities are keen to destroy the vestiges of non-Han culture and history in this much-loved place, which is considered by many Uighurs as the closest thing they have to a spiritual "homeland" in urban Xinjiang. As was shown so graphically and violently just a few months ago, Urumqi is a Han city where Uighurs don't feel at ease.
I simply do not believe that the residents of the old town were meaningfully consulted about this "renovation," nor do I believe that the UN was asked about or approves of it.
this is the best documentary from western media about the demolition of Kashgar http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gm4uVWNAc0k&feature=related
i don't think an Uighur fond of hiphop will be more allegiant to the Chinese government than an Uighur fond of traditional dance. so i don't think the demolition of Kashgar old town was trying to root up the Uighur culture. just when the renovation plan was conceived in the late 1990s, people really believe only those old buildings as elegant as the Abakh Hoja Tomb were worth preservation.and the local government was not rich enough to sustain the museum as big as the whole old town. so the local government decided to demolish most of old buildings and only keep a small part of it as "old town theme park". it's a pity that the local government doesn't realize the mistake until today. many damages are irretrievable. but politicize the rebuilding project can not exacerbate the situation.
this is an article from an American "Why are there no old things in Korea", in fact, Korean always protected cultural relic, just they didn't think shabby thatched roofs need to be preserved at the 1960s.
http://notdeadyetblog.com/?p=544#comments