Beware of greedy glare of Village scene

There's been quite a bit of hand-wringing over the decline and fall of the Nanluoguxiang scene. It's a pity, but so are death and taxes, and all three are equally inevitable. The half-life of a city hot spot lasts at most two years, and Nanluoguxiang is well past its 2006-08 heyday. In any event, the passing of Nanluoguxiang bodes no lasting harm to Beijing's cultural identity.

Its greatest threat, however, stands embodied in The Village at Sanlitun. Never has so much glass and LCD flashed on so little redeeming value. If only it resembled other Beijing supermall boondoggles, window-shopped by day and avoided by night, we would be safe. But The Village is a golem, one in a worldwide infestation of Frankenspots spawned by the enemy of all that is sacred: global consumer culture.

If Nanluoguxiang is a dying scene, The Village is an anti-scene. The law of hot spots has been turned on its head: the greedy come first, developers and shareholders agreeing on profits and exit strategies.