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Published: October 5th 2011
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Lingnan architecture is a style of building that derived out of the last two decades of the Qing Dynasty. The characteristics are brick, plaster, wood shutters, and arched roofs with clay tiles. At the moment I'm completing my masters degree in historic preservation which leads me on building scavenger hunts.
Yesterday I visited Foshan's Eastern Square (Dongfeng Guanchan) I found that many of the city's Lingnan buildings were half way demolished, and some were undergoing a restoration. The symbol for demolish is 拆, Chai. They are distinguished with red spray paint. The selection process between "history" and rubble seems completely random. As though a bored teenager had walked down the street with a can of spray red spray pain playing: 'duck duck duck 拆!'
Most of the workers this week were on holiday which gave me an opportunity to see the area before it's gone. It's not difficult to walk through the area, and there is no worry of trespassing. Most sight have a guard to watch for looters. I announced myself in every building I walked through and no one seemed to mind. If anything people thought I was a bit strange.
The only thing I'd worry
Daoist Mirror of a shop
The owner of this store found it strange that I took an interest in his store. about is that a few apartments have people still living in them, and they are protected by dogs. If a dog says no picture, I turn around. A lesson learned for young people who run the risk of getting old. You might become a squader in your own apartment one day. Get a dog.
I walked through one alley and found an old man smoking and watching a soap the door open. I said 'hi' and asked him if I could talk. He quickly walked to the door and slid a wooden gate shut, revealing a feature of Lingnan authenticity. Wooden gates in the doorways allow air circulation and keep residents safe from unwanted guests like me. I'd never been so happy to have a door slammed in my face, I thanked him as he sat back down to watch TV.
I spent the afternoon talking to people and taking photos; I got a consensus from anyone willing to talk to me, and stories were varying from person to person. The information I got seemed to be more of a collection of rumors that didn't add up. One guard told me the buildings were bought by private developers
Dog
I pity the sledge hammer weilding farmer who's job it is to cross this pooch. for condos, others mentioned a park, some talked about a mall. Talking people in these situations is like looking at Wikipedia: It's all wrong, but more accurate than other sources.
I went to the police station for more info and an officer told me the government had reclaimed the area for a major shopping center while selecting a few buildings for restoration. Accurate or not, these buildings will be gone forever. That is a fact.
Kuai Zi Lu had the most sporadic selection. Some buildings are half way collapsed while others are wrapped in scaffolding getting ready for a new face lift. One distinguishing mark of Foshan's Daoist tradition is to put a mirror on the corner of the door to keep ghosts away. It's similar to a Mezuzah in Judaism or an evil eye in Turkish culture. Another sign of the Lingnan era is piles of firewood outside of homes. Wood fires in the home are risky in the fall with so many dry leaves.
A store owner who's shop was set for demolition found it strange that I was asking him about his building. How old the building was, and when it would be destroyed.
Old Man's Apartment
These wood slats keep the rubble tourists like me away. He found it comical. To be fair, I am rather direct in my approach. Most foreigners who look like me probably ask this man 'which way is the McDonalds?'
Another Guangdong folk art tradition is the door God. It's a caricature of a Tang Dynasty soldier meant to keep away burglars. Many door God posters were peeling away on the doors. In one sight there were several paintings lying in the mud. I told one of the guards that the paintings would make a nice gift for a wife or girlfriend and he grunted at me.
A lucky shop keepers who's buildings were selected for restoration spoke about the development with enthusiasm and pride, while other residents were more nonchalant. The neighborhood is equally thrilling and heart breaking. It's important to be objective, and not force foreign values on this situation.
The ethics of each building are different. I've had students who've destroyed their own homes in celebration of the money they get from the government. Most people I talk to who are upset, are only upset because a land owner got a bad deal. This attitude tells young people that their own culture is not worth
caring out. When people are excited about destroying their own homes, so be it!
That's what makes this such an exciting time to live here, people are celebrating the destruction of their own culture. If you are in Guangdong province I recommend you pay a visit to Foshan and see these buildings before they're carted away for scrap. Nothing is wasted. This is a "Green Demolition." Who knows what will be made from the materials of these buildings. One photo shows that the workers assembled bricks to make a BBQ pit. These buildings are not dying they're being recycled.
China Digital Times and Al Jazeera have published some interesting information about the riot two weeks ago in Lufeng city, and have nicknamed it a "Land Grab." Something the international community doesn't realize the complexity of Mainland real estate. All property in the mainland has a lifespan.
When you 'buy' Mainland property you get a 'fang chuan zhen,' essentially a lease from the government. Usually 80+ years. It's expected that homes will be demolished, unless there is some practical use to generate tourism. There are two categories of mainland apartments, "new" and "second hand." Second hand apartments are
cheaper because they will be demolished first. Many bleeding heart, anti-Chinese, 'human rights' activists are just crying wolf.
This is also why so many many beautiful homes are decaying. Many residents are just waiting for cash. After three years in this country the common denominator connecting rich and poor, young and old is the desire to go shopping.
The shopping mall across from the construction is filled with people. According to the five year plan minimum wage is going to double by 2015, so that poor people can start paying full price for goods produced in the factories where they work. Just like a 1950's Detroit where auto workers would boast about installing the engines of their own cars. Or maybe a stripper who finishes work and spends all her tip money at the bar. The shopping factory workers are another dying way of life; once Vietnam builds the infrastructure Guangdong factory jobs will head south.
Many developments in Guangdong have helped cities become more livable and created jobs, such as the Guangfo subway line during last years Asian games, and made my journey to Foshan fast and easy. Many new developments have cities better and more
efficient.
In the middle of the development is one of Foshan's landmarks, known as Lingyuan, which is considered to be a masterpiece of Qing dynasty Lingnan style architecture. It's preserved by the Guangdong Folk art society while surrounding buildings won't make the cut. Attached is a photo of a tourist reading about the history of Lingyuan garden while the building behind him is marked with 拆.
Over the past three years I've photographed construction projects across China and I'm dedicating a separate writing project just for demolition. I'm calling my particular interest Rubble Tourism.
If you are just as interested in this topic as I am visit http://rubbletourist.wordpress.com/
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Mark Clulow
non-member comment
Great Post!
Really cool reading about your adventures, thanks George! I think a trip to Foshan is well in order :)