Missing: A plan to protect ancient buildings

China Daily | Updated: 2021-10-15 07:45

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Rescuers in Jishan county repair a section of an embankment that was washed away by floodwaters of the Fenhe River. CHINA DAILY

The safety of residents and properties in Shanxi province, which has been lashed by heavy rains for weeks now, has grabbed nationwide attention, but nobody seems to have spared a thought for the safety of cultural relics there, which includes 53,875 immovable ones.

Of these, 30,000 are dilapidated buildings. In fact, by Oct 12, 1,763 of these structures are reportedly at risk, while nine museums and memorials had reported leakages and structural damages.

Further, many of the damaged structures were being exploited for tourism and other commercial purposes even before the recent spell of heavy rain. They were damaged and lacked proper maintenance, weakening their ability to withstand extreme weather conditions.

In other words, the heavy rainfall has only exposed the fragility of such ancient structures while highlighting the importance of protecting them.

In this regard, it is worth asking to what extent should such ancient structures be commercially exploited. Can their basic structure be altered? Can their decorations be tampered with? How many tourists should be allowed inside them on any given day? All these factors must be taken into consideration while exploiting ancient structures for commercial purposes, so that they remain strong enough to withstand heavy rainfall and other natural calamities.

Also, weather as a harmful element must be taken into consideration when making protection plans for ancient buildings, even more so given the increasing frequency of extreme weather conditions. Cities have been making emergency plans ranging from evacuation of people to human resource mobilization and suspension of schools and offices in the event of a calamity.

However, no such plans have been made with regard to ancient heritage structures and cultural relics in Shanxi yet. It is high time such plans are made before a natural calamity destroys this rich legacy forever. They have survived ravages through thousands of years. Let us not let a single spell of rain destroy them completely.