China's cookie-cutter cities

By Chen Xia
0 CommentsPrint E-mail China.org.cn, September 17, 2010
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Over the past years, China had made much progress in urbanization. In 2009, 46.6 percent of the country's total population was urban residents. In the next five years, the figure will probably surpass 50 percent.

Many of Beijing's hutongs were demolished to make way for broad roads and skyscrapers.

However, while cities and towns spring up all over the country, most of them lack character. According to Li Xun, deputy head of China Academy of Urban Planning and Design, there are many reasons for this.

 

First, it's cookie-cutter architecture – all the buildings look similar, and thus cities lose their distinct flavor.

Second, cultural heritage sites have been lost. Many ancient cities, such as Beijing, Xi'an, Hangzhou and Luoyang, were ruined by industrialization. For a long time, Beijing's historic hutongs and courtyards were seen as a symbol of backwardness, so many were demolished to make way for broad roads and skyscrapers.

Third, many urbanization plans lack innovation. When Shenzhen built the theme park Window of the World, similar versions cropped up all over the country. Moreover, some city planners misunderstand modernization. They believe skyscrapers and matchbox buildings are the symbols of a modern city.

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