AP 6/14

CHINA’S RAPID URBANIZATION HAS ‘DEVASTATED’ HERITAGE SITES OFFICIAL SAYS

BEIJING (AP) — China’s rapid urbanization has devastated the country’s architectural and cultural heritage sites, state media reported.

“Senseless actions” by local officials in their pursuit of renovation and modernization have “devastated” the sites, Qiu Baoxing, the vice minister of construction, was quoted as saying by the China Daily.

He said the destruction was similar to what happened during the Great Leap Forward in the late 1950s and during the Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976, when relics and sites of historical value were destroyed.

China’s cities have been transformed in recent years, with old neighborhoods being pulled down to make way for highrises and highways. But many historic buildings have also been destroyed in the rush to build.

“They are totally unaware of the value of cultural heritage,” Qiu said about some officials.

“This is leading to a poor sight — many cities have a similar construction style. It is like 1,000 cities having the same appearance,” Qiu said on the sidelines of an international conference on urban culture and city planning.

Tong Mingkang, deputy director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, accused some local governments of pulling down valuable historical sites in need of repair and replacing them with fakes.

“It is like tearing up an invaluable painting and replacing it with a cheap print,” Tong was quoted as saying.

Tong said a $130 million, five-year nationwide survey on cultural relics has been launched to get a clearer picture of their status.