Deputies say cultural protection should not be haphazard

Protection of the old city of Beijing should form a complete pattern, not just in scattered locations, deputies to the 13th National People's Congress from Beijing said during this year's two sessions.

Wu Chen, chief architect of Beijing Institute of Architectural Design, who is also a deputy to the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, said different areas in Beijing possess diverse beauty — for example, the imperial city that took the Palace Museum as the core.

"There exists a sense of the beauty in narrow alleyways, as well as in quiet courtyards," he said. "Whether the old city of Beijing, about 62.5 square kilometers, or the core area of the city, are important carriers of the cultural development of Beijing and Chinese cities."

Wu thus suggested conducting complete and synchronous protection for the cultural relics sites, to realize the resurgence of those historic sites.

"A complete protective structure for those regions should take shape, and the protection should not be carried out at scattered points," Wu added.

Qi Mei, the principal researcher at the Capital Museumand a deputy to the 13th NPC from Beijing, had paid long-term attention to the old city protection in Beijing.

She acknowledged that the old city is an unmovable cultural relic and its protective principle should be kept —restoration of the original appearance.

"Old things can't be rudely abandoned, and its original cultural meaning and style should be maintained," Qi said.

In recent years, metropolises such as Beijing, Nanjing, Xi'an and Taiyuan have rolled out regulations on the conservation of historic cultural cities, to put a great emphasis on the protection work.