Case for preserving the old in China

The need to be judicious in demolishing old buildings in the process of reconstructing cities has been an important and recurring issue in China in recent years. Now that the magnificent city of old times, Xi'an, too, aspires to be guoji da dushi (metropolis), it is time for some fresh reflection.

To a certain extent, "new look" constructions are unavoidable even in older/historical/ancient cities and towns. And given the pressure on land, they have to come at some cost of older structures.

But the choice of which structures to demolish and which ones to leave intact for posterity is of utmost importance to maintain a balance between the "new" and the old. There are still a lot of structures of historical and cultural value in China, especially in relatively smaller towns and cities that can be saved through some extra efforts.