The Gulou gets a reprieve

Several years ago, many of the Dashilar's historic hutong neighborhoods were torn down to make way for redevelopment. And, up until very recently, it seemed certain that this would soon begin to happen to the area around the Bell and Drum towers.

But, in a surprise move, Dongcheng district government has put the so-called "Beijing Cultural Time City" Gulou Redevelopment Project, which was scheduled to begin shortly, on ice indefinitely. By preserving an important part of what's left of old Beijing, this decision will help the city maintain a distinct identity compared with other global metropolises.

While every other world city has gleaming high-rise towers and glitzy shopping malls, none of them has anything equivalent to Beijing's old hutong neighborhoods. And those around the Bell and Drum towers are arguably the crown jewel of Beijing's still extensive, but rapidly disappearing historic inner core.