Paying the city due respect
He Zhiya spent his childhood in a large multi-household compound in Chongqing.
The 60-year-old still remembers the house with its massive stone threshold, carved wooden railings, square patio and courtyard along checkered with a patchwork of moss.
Outside the gate wound a long stone stairway meandering towards a local harbor, where many wooden boats berthed by the Yangtze riverside when bringing in shipments of goods such as coal, rice and fruits.
Being well aware of the dramatic changes following the urban development starting in the early 1990s, He thought of the old house and decided to see it once more.
To his disappointment, it had already been demolished to make room for newer buildings. "I was so regretful I hadn't come earlier and felt a strange sense of loss," he recalls, frowning. "It didn't just happen to that house but also to other old dwellings and lanes."
As vice-chairman of Chongqing Photographer's Association, He spent more than four years trying to capture and preserve the old lanes and neighborhoods in his black and white photos. The photographer released his first album The Old Lanes of Chongqing in 2000 and presented The Old Towns of Chongqing in 2002.
"I appeal for the preservation of the traditional architecture and culture through these pictures," he explains. "Architecture is a carrier of the city's history. Once it disappears, the history will vanish too."
Slender, fair-skinned and of average height, the chairman of Chongqing Yufu Assets Management Co Ltd doesn't look at all like a businessman. He seems more like a scholar who would be happy to share his knowledge about old Chongqing.
Historically, Chongqing had been a destination for migrants. They brought rich cultural elements to the city, which are today reflected in the city's old buildings.
Featuring a fusion of architectural features from various regions, these buildings dot the city's perilous topography, he explains.
Chongqing is undergoing full-speed-ahead growth, which accelerated since it became a municipality in 1997. The downtown was given a face-lift and much of the area went under construction.
He, who is also vice-chairperson of the Urban Planning Association, believed that in order to improve people's living conditions, it is necessary to tear down some old buildings, such as scaffold houses (diaojiao lou), that don't have gas, individual kitchens or even private toilets.
However, for buildings and lanes with historical significance, he believes the city "shouldn't simply demolish them, because they are invaluable artifacts of cultural heritage".
He and other experts have come together to estimate the results of urban reconstructions over the past two decades. "What we found was we have largely damaged the original look of the city, in other words, we don't respect the city enough."
He has worked for the preservation of historical buildings for years, and in 1998, he honed his efforts on Huguang (Provincial) Guildhall, an 8,500-square-meter ancient architecture complex built between the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911).
However, preserving historical buildings is not as simple as framing them in his camera lens. He then struggled to raise funds to repair the architectural complex, which cost about 100 million yuan ($12.5 million). The renovation eventually started in 2003 and was completed in 2005. It is regarded as one of the largest and best-reserved ancient architectural complexes in the country.
His fascination with old architecture has driven He to visit old towns in Sichuan, which are becoming increasingly rare. He hopes to release a book about such old towns next year.
(China Daily 06/21/2007 page23)
