Drum Tower plan shelved
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Controversial plans to redevelop the historic Gulou Drum Tower hutong area into a tourism attraction have been placed on hold after the merger of Dongcheng and Chongwen districts into a combined new Dongcheng district government.
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The Bell Tower, as seen from the Drum Tower Monday |
Extensive plans to "restore" Gulou into something dubbed "Time Cultural City" by the former Dongcheng district director Yang Yiwen have all been shelved, according to a government insider who requested anonymity.
"The Time Cultural City is a thing of the past," an anonymous deputy director of the new Dongcheng district was quoted as saying in a Beijing Times report Monday.
While the authorities maintain Gulou's future is unclear, culture heritage preservation experts were celebrating Monday what they characterized as new hope for one of the city's last remaining pieces of authentic hutong culture.
Announced at the beginning of the year, Yang's plan was supposed to be put in motion this year and be completed by 2012.
The government developers were to dig around the Drum and Bell towers and all the adjoining Ming and Qing dynasty hutong to create an un-derground museum chronicling ancient timekeeping technology complete with restaurants, shopping and parking spaces.
Rumors of demolition of the residential area had been rampant ever since, although no official notice was ever delivered.
"We want demolition and a move to a better place," said a 78-year-old resident surnamed Zhang Monday. Zhang lives with his wife in a 20-square-meter room in Caochang Hutong.
"We've been waiting for the official notice of demolition."
Most residents average less than 10 square meters of living space per person, according to the Zhonglouwan Residents Committee.
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