Official races to save heritage sites from bulldozer
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Residents and authorities are today realizing the "outstanding cultural value" of siheyuan, which can now only be found in a few remaining pockets in central Beijing, he said. "In the past, a resident would gladly accept 300,000 yuan ($44,000) in compensation to give up a siheyuan. Today, you can't buy one even with 30 million yuan."
A stone carving on a door arch at the Dongyue Temple in Beijing.
But it is not only ancient relics that should be protected, heritage from recent history should also be considered, he said. So far, only two plates have been found bearing the name of "people's commune", which was overwhelmingly popular throughout China about 50 years ago, said Shan.
Introduced in 1958 as a rural collective of farms, these communes served as multipurpose organizations for the direction of local government and management of economic and social activity in China. They began to be phased out in the 1980s. "If we could find another plate of the people's commune it would be a premium treasure," he said.
As a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the nation's top advisory body, Shan said he had submitted a host of proposals advocating the protection of heritage sites in danger, including the 143-year-old Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai.
One thing that perhaps will never disappear is China Cultural Heritage Day, which falls annually on the second Saturday in June. When Shan called for the creation of a day to raise public awareness of heritage conservation, he learned the State Council had already issued a notice stopping the setting up of special days of observance.
After persistent effort, including asking hordes of specialists to write to the authorities supporting his calls, Shan's dream finally came true in 2006.
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