Leave old towns alone
Cicheng in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, is a quiet old town with a rich culture and many historical sites. Yet the massive construction now going on in the area has many worried about its fate. Cicheng may soon join the long list of old towns that have lost their identity due to excessive development.
This is true of many canal towns in the Yangtze Delta region as well as old towns in other parts of the country. Often as a norm, local residents are asked to move out of the area because a certain property developer has been contracted by government to develop and operate the place. Many poorly maintained old and historical houses are torn down. And fancy replications are built on the original sites.
These replica houses are often occupied by hotels, teahouses, restaurants, Internet cafs and shops selling tourism souvenirs and local specialties aimed at deriving maximum revenue from the influx of tourists. As a result, the very reasons that lure people to visit the places - tranquility, cultural and historical flavor and the unique local life - no longer exist any more.