OPINION> Liang Hongfu
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OPINION> Liang Hongfu
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Heritage in the time of development
By Hong Liang (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-10-20 10:06 Donald Tsang, Hong Kong's chief executive, has made the preservation of the few remaining historical landmarks, notably the Central Market, a centerpiece of his annual policy speech that set the direction for his administration in 2010.
Remodeling those quaint old structures in the prime business district for public use rather than selling them outright to real estate barons for redevelopment is going to cost the government tens of billions of dollars in projected income. The government's generosity was widely cheered by many political leaders and social activists. But die-hard conservationists and traditionalists charged that Tsang's proposed scheme to salvage the remains of Hong Kong's historical heritage was too limited in scope and unimaginative in execution. In this respect, there is, perhaps, a lesson or two Hong Kong can learn from Shanghai. Some weeks ago, I was fascinated by a local television show in which one of the city's most flamboyant impresarios, Prof Qian Wenzhong, of Fudan University, expertly led viewers down Shanghai's memory lane. The tour took us to monumental buildings with a rich history as well as those quiet tree-lined lanes where time seemed to have stood still since the 1930s when this most cosmopolitan of all Asian cities was widely known and accepted as the "Paris of the Orient". As a loyal fan of the professor, I was enthused by his animated introduction to what he described as the "many hidden treasures" of Shanghai. Together with a visiting friend from Hong Kong, I sallied off on a sunny morning last week in search of those treasures. Our first stop was Duolun Road near the park named after Lu Xun, one of the most venerated writers in China. That road, marked as a tourist attraction in any guidebook you care to consult, is made famous by a few illustrious former residences, including, of course, Lu Xun's. The old buildings on both sides of the road are well preserved in their original form. But the excessive care lavished on this place by city planners, exemplified by numerous bronze figures of nobody in particular, has added nothing other than a chintzy image common to many other so-called tourist attractions. Our next stop was the intersection of three tree-lined streets behind Hengshan Road in the heart of what was once the French concession. This is a quiet residential haven of graceful old buildings, tall trees and clean sidewalks, untouched by bureaucratic meddling. At one street corner is an up-market kitchen-ware shop that sells imported pots, pans, cutlery and almost any other imaginable utensils you may need to cook a meal. Across the roundabout from the shop are a couple of European restaurants, one of which features large French windows with dainty laced curtains. An English pub in a two-story warehouse-like building is not far away down one street. But the centerpiece of that delightful area must be a whitewashed house that was home to the banking family of Xi. Now, the entire building has been converted into a restaurant, Xi Jia Hua Yuan, or the Private Kitchen of Xi, which specializes in the traditional Shanghai cuisine. Much of the interior dcor of the original home has been preserved. Having a leisurely lunch in an airy wood-paneled room is a luxury that is not readily available in any large city that is going through a phase of development as breathtaking as that of Shanghai. The food tasted good to me. But don't take my word for it. I am a fan of McDonald's. In Hong Kong, we used to care little about our common heritage. In those days, many Hong Kong people thought of themselves as transients, trying to make enough money to move on. Now, more and more Hong Kong people are taking roots, resulting in a sharp change in the city's psyche, a development that the Tsang administration has apparently found that it must take more seriously than before. jamesleung@chinadaily.com.cn |
