historical and cultural cities
- historical and cultural cities
In 1982, in conjunction with China’s Law of the PRC on the Protection of Cultural Relics, the State Council designated twenty-four ‘historical and cultural cities’. The three criteria for such a designation were (1) the degree to which those cities possessed abundant and significant cultural relics; (2) how much the contemporary city reflected its traditional urban plan and context; and (3) whether the preservation of the city in general, and its historic districts in particular, would have a positive impact on, and provide useful guidelines for, other cities. In 1986 the Council determined that thirty-eight other cities met these criteria; thirty-seven more were added in 1994, and two more after 1999, totalling (as of early 2003) 101 cities.
Designation has not automatically led to protection. Because Chinese cities have faced extraordinary challenges in the past twenty years—e.g. population influx, infrastructural upgrades, real estate development, environmental transformation—the toll taken on historic and cultural resources within cities has been extraordinary. Furthermore, there is often a lack of public awareness about either the importance of heritage protection, or the extent to which Chinese governmental authorities truly consider such protection a priority.
Although the central government provided US$18 million for protection projects in eighty cities between 1997 and 2002, demolition in the name of urban renewal continues to erode the historic fabric of many Chinese cities, thus calling into question governments’ will or ability to remedy the situation. Therefore, designation carries a certain cachet of being ‘historical’ or ‘cultural’ which sometimes translates into tourism value, and such designation can also bring monetary benefit from the government, but it still remains unclear whether most Chinese people either know, or care, that their city is historic/cultural, or not.
Chan, Jick Kong (1999). The 99 Historic Cities of China. Hong Kong: Historic City Books.
Ruan, Yisan (1995). Planning and Conservation of Chinese Historic Cities. Shanghai: Tongji University Press.
Wang, Jinghui, Ruan, Yisan and Wang, Lin (eds) (1999). Lishi wenhua gecheng baohu lilun yu guihua [Conservation Theory and Planning of Historic Cultural Cities]. Shanghai: Tongji University Press.
Wu, Liangyong (2000). Rehabilitating the Old City of Beijing: A Project for the Ju’er Hutong Neighborhood. Vancouver: University of British Columbia.
JEFFREY W.CODY
Encyclopedia of contemporary Chinese culture.
Compiled by EdwART.
2011.
Look at other dictionaries:
Twin towns and sister cities — Sister City redirects here. For the episode from the television show Parks and Recreation, see Sister City (Parks and Recreation). Sign denoting twin towns of Neckarsulm, Baden Württemberg, Germany Twin towns and sister cities are two of many… … Wikipedia
Cultural and historical background of Jesus — Scholars examine the cultural and historical background of Jesus in order to better understand Jesus, his ministry, and the origins of Christianity. This examination treats the New Testament as one of many documents, written and perhaps later… … Wikipedia
Cities of the Philippines — Philippines This article is part of the series: Politics and government of the Philippines … Wikipedia
Historical background of New Testament — Palestine in Jesus time. A series of articles on … Wikipedia
Historical powers — include great powers, nations, or empires in history. The term Great power represent the most important world powers. In a modern context, recognised great powers came about first in Europe during the post Napoleonic era.[1] The formalization of… … Wikipedia
Historical city of Russia — Historical cities and settlements of Russia ( ru. исторические города и поселения) are settlements of historical and archaeological importance in Russia. The official definition of this status was decreed in the Soviet Union in May of 1970, when… … Wikipedia
cultural anthropology — cultural anthropologist. the branch of anthropology dealing with the origins, history, and development of human culture, and including in its scope the fields of archaeology, ethnology, and ethnography. Also called social anthropology. Cf.… … Universalium
Cultural policy — is the area of public policy making that governs activities related to the arts and culture. Generally, this involves fostering processes, legal classifications and institutions which promote cultural diversity and accessibility, as well as… … Wikipedia
Cultural radicalism — (Danish: Kulturradikalisme) was a movement in Danish culture. It was particular strong in the Interwar Period, but its philosophy has its origin in the 1870s and a great deal of modern social commentary still refer to it. At the time of the… … Wikipedia
HISTORICAL SURVEY: THE STATE AND ITS ANTECEDENTS (1880–2006) — Introduction It took the new Jewish nation about 70 years to emerge as the State of Israel. The immediate stimulus that initiated the modern return to Zion was the disappointment, in the last quarter of the 19th century, of the expectation that… … Encyclopedia of Judaism
