Replacement History: New Developments by Guangzhou's Liede Bridge

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One of the more majestic views of Guangzhou is provided by a walk over the Liede Bridge, there anyone can see the Pearl River and the now two year old landmark of the Guangzhou Tower . Right now is the best time to walk down Liede road and see one neighborhood replacing another. 山村 (Shancun) is the next village in Tienhe district to be demolished, while next door a series of traditional Lingnan Villas are filling the void of tangible history.

In September of 2011 Wen Jiaobao shocked the historical community when criticizing real estate developer’s contracts with local governments. He was quoted as saying "We are destroying the real, and building up the fake." China Heritage Quarterly gave an extensive account of how ironic these statements were considering that hyper development has contributed to China's economy, while destroying China's tangible history.

Along an open sewer, is a newly created veranda of upscale restaurants. Some not yet open for business, but all demonstrating traditional Lingnang Architecture. Blue brick walls, ceramic drainage, lime sculpture, wood carvings, Xiguan Windows. This is a very high class impression of Guangzhou's architectural history built over a quarry of raw sewage. The location is visibly stimulating, but the odor is yet to be desired.

This is evident when walking around the quarantined village: 山村. Residents must show ID to enter while each entry point is guarded by both police and military, trucks of migrant workers arrive at all hours for extra work while locals wait outside to buy scrap for sale. Each building that is demolished creates dozens of part time jobs. People who are still residing in the area are involved in a negotiation process. There is really no concept of tangible heritage from any perspective, everyone involved is trying to walk away with money in their pocket. Much harder for developers now since 2011 showed a 40% drop in housing sales.

2007 began an explosive period of development with all Chinese cities starting with Beijing. After five years cities have destroyed and rebuilt themselves at speed that can't be matched in human history. In 20 years young people will ask, 'what was it like living in Guangzhou in 2012, Beijing in 2008, and Shanghai in 2011?'

These photos will answer a lot of questions.

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