Temporalities and the conservation of cultural relic protection units: legislative, economic and citizen times of the Bu
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Zhu and Hein Built Heritage (2020) 4:11 https://doi.org/10.1186/s43238-020-00012-8
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Open Access
Temporalities and the conservation of cultural relic protection units: legislative, economic and citizen times of the Bugaoli community in globalising Shanghai Kaiyi Zhu*
and Carola M. Hein
Abstract Since the establishment of treaty ports in the mid-19th century, the urban development of many Chinese cities, and notably of Shanghai, has been heavily influenced by global economic flows and global urban and architectural practices. In Shanghai, extensive lilong neighbourhoods stand as remnants of the treaty port era. Many of these historic districts are in close proximity to rapidly transforming areas of the city, creating civic tension around demolition, conservation and the redevelopment of colonial heritage. Examining the listed Bugaoli community in Shanghai’s old French Concession, the heritage strategies applied under the particular Cultural Relics Protection System (CRPS), and the discourse of local residents interviewed in the context of this project, this paper reveals the paradoxes around urban heritage conservation and urban development by considering three different temporalities: legislative time, economic time and citizen time. The paper argues that actors involved in heritage practices should consider both space and time related issues in urban heritage conservation. Historic communities such as Bugaoli experience conflicts between conservation and the demands of everyday life. They underline and require a heritage strategy that acknowledges diverse temporalities and balances legal norms, economic interests and the public’s demands. Keywords: Cultural Relics Protection System (CRPS), Bugaoli (Cité Bourgogne), Legislative time, Economic time, Citizen time, Temporalities, Shanghai, Urban heritage conservation
Introduction At a time when China and its cities are booming, the question of how to deal with rapid urban growth and the conservation of Chinese urban legacies remains largely unresolved. Long-standing traditions regarding the protection and display of antiquities govern debates about Chinese heritage. The category of ‘cultural relic’ (wenwu) and a focus on physical protection and restoration may be appropriate for smaller-scale objects, but fails at the scale of buildings and urban areas that have evolved over long periods of time. Urban heritage activities take place within different temporal * Correspondence: [email protected] Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, Delft University of Technology, Julianalaan 134, 2628 BL Delft, Netherlands
regimes and are often constrained by the realities of a slowly moving legal system. After the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, a few significant prominent historic buildings and sites were recognised as ‘cultural relics’ under the Cultural Relics Protection System (CRPS, 文物保护制度). Established in 1949 and continually amended by the State Council of China, in 1982 this system was legally promulgated by the Cultural Rel
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