On the afternoon of May 17, 2018, Cao Wei, a famous architect, policy research expert of the China Policy Expert Bank, and expert from the China Center for Urban Development under National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), proposed the concept of “rebuilding the image of the old city and creating an organic cultural life circle” at the kick-off meeting for the Project on "Research on the Protection and Rejuvenation of Old Towns" held by the government of Xicheng District.
Mr. Cao Wei believed that:
The Hutong of Beijing was developed along with the thousand-year-old traditional way of living of the people here. The development of history should not demolish traditional cities like Beijing. Take Venice in Italy as an example. The Venice government has always spared no effort in the conflicts between modern development and traditional culture protection. The establishment of an organic cultural circle, as can be seen in many renovation plans, is one of the most successful solutions to the contradiction between modern life tools and traditional spaces. There established many organic areas in Venice, where tourists and residents can experience the traditional way of life with thousands of years of history. Its success may lie in the fact that the dense urban waterway happens to ease the traffic pressure, but more importantly, the strong belief of local residents for the protection of the traditional way of life and the appreciation of its profound history and culture.
The Hutongs in Beijing are endowed with more green and recreation spaces. Through the separation of people and vehicles, we can effectively protect the unique environment and image of the old city, especially the Hutongs, comprehensively improve the living environment, and rebuild the traditional way of life and environment that have survived for hundreds of years. This shows our respect for people’s livelihood, as well as for the thousands of years of history and culture of this unique city of Beijing.
There are no other places in the world that can give people the opportunity to live in a city with thousands of years of history and enjoy the traditional way of life at the same time. Beijing is uniquely endowed with the most profound history, traditional living space, street layout formed through thousands of years, and the way of life developed under their influence. Although Beijing has experienced many setbacks and failures in its social development, the current decision is also an important step, and doing the right thing is the bottom line for city managers today. Local residents, tourists, entrepreneurs and different parties living in the old city area of Beijing may have different needs, but since they live here in such a history-rich environment, they must respect the millennium-old history and culture rarely seen in Beijing and even the world, living in it, enjoying it, and recreating the essence of its living space.
