Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers Municipal Engineer 163 September 2010 Issue ME3 Pages 155–161 doi: 10.1680/muen.2010.163.3.155 Paper 900051 Received 01/11/2009 Accepted 18/02/2010 Keywords: conservation/developing countries/ history Tim Heath Head of School, Department of Architecture and Built Environment, University of Nottingham, UK Yue Tang Department of Architecture and Built Environment, University of Nottingham, UK Beijing’s hutong and siheyuan: conservation of an urban identity T. Heath BA (Hons), BArch, MA, PhD and Y. Tang MEng, MA This paper focuses upon efforts to secure the future of the historic winding hutong streets and siheyuan houses that represent the way of life of the common people and the true urban identity of Beijing. These remaining patches of historic Beijing are of immense value and the urgency of their preservation has become widely recognised. There are many challenges facing conservation projects with regard to the retention of the unique historic urban character whilst achieving necessary revitalisation. This paper will review recent practice and legislation that is recognising the potential of the old city without com- promising the modernity of China’s bustling capital. 1. INTRODUCTION Globalisation has had a huge and varied worldwide impact that has been exacerbated by the attempts of nations and indeed cities, particularly in rapidly developing countries, to become world economic leaders. In most cases this process of development and modernisation has negative side-effects that often go relatively un- noticed. In China’s case, this has been the impact upon its urban heritage, although significantly, Vice Premier Wen Jiabao (Wen, 2004) has publicly recognised the seriousness of this issue: At present, the pre-eminent problem in our country’s urban construction is that some city leaders only see the economic values of natural and cultural relics but know little about the historical, scientific, cultural and artistic value of them. They seek only economic benefits and development while neglecting protection, so damage to natural and cultural relics are occurring frequently. Some city leaders simply deem the constructions of high-rise buildings as urban modernisation while paying insufficient attention to protec- tion of natural scenes and historical and cultural relics. Their large- scale dismantling and building during old city reconstruction have damaged many traditional districts and buildings with historical and cultural values. Some other city leaders prefer to demolish true historical relics and build false historical sites and artificial scenes... We must resolutely correct such wrong practices. China is the world’s largest developing country with one of the fastest growing economies. Rapid socioeconomic progress is clearly the driver behind the country’s strategies for prosperity and economic development; however, this has often had an adverse impact upon the nation’s cultural heritage. This paper examines the conflict between the modernisation process in Beijing and the conservation of its historical built form. 2. THE HISTORIC CITY OF BEIJING Beijing with its history of over 3000 years has been the capital of China since the thirteenth century. Since the formation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, the city has become a truly international city with an exciting mix of new and old. Indeed, globally recognisable historic landmarks such as the Forbidden City; the Summer Palace; the Temple of Heaven; and Tiananmen Square now sit cheek-by-jowl with contemporary architectural tour-de-force such as Sir Norman Foster’s Terminal Three at Capital Airport; Rem Koolhas’ CCTV television authority building; Herzog and de Meuron’s National Stadium; and Paul Andreu’s National Theatre. The sweeping modernisation programme that has been under- taken has, however, had a significant and often detrimental impact upon traditional cultural heritage particularly less well known edifices and more significantly the general townscape and traditional neighbourhoods. One of the greatest ironies of this modernisation process is that, despite the plethora of European and US-based architects working on iconic buildings in Beijing, much of the redevelopment reflects the worst excesses of the late 1950s through to the early 1970s in many Western countries. Indeed, the city has become a car-dependent environment dominated by repetitive high-rise development with a lack of identity, in stark contrast to the traditional city (Sorkin 2008). The city of Beijing has grown at an incredible pace with an average annual growth of around 2% since 1980. The city’s population was around 18 million by 2010 of which nearly 25% were migrants. Such growth has placed exhaustive pressures upon services, and development activity has been a priority to accommodate the city’s expanding residential population often at the cost of historic buildings. The city is subdivided into two counties and sixteen districts. The historic city is, however, contained within the second ring road and is divided into four districts. One of the fundamental issues relating to conservation in these districts is the complex system of administration. Indeed, the day-to-day governance of the old city rests with many government departments including: the Capital City Planning Committee; the Beijing City Planning Committee; the Beijing City Cultural Relics Office; the Housing Office and Beijing City Construction Bureau. Significantly, the Beijing Master Plan 1991–2010 indicates that each district planning bureau has responsibility for planning including historic conservation, however, the Municipal Engineer 163 Issue ME3 Beijing’s hutong and siheyuan: conservation of an urban identity Heath ? Tang 155