Recently in conservation Category

More on this disturbing topic.

The Beijing CHP (Cultural Heritage Society) has revealed that the Kashgar local government are claiming that UNESCO supports their plan to level and rebuild the old town. A large billboard pictured on CHP's website publicly proclaims this as "fact".

It seems extremely unlikely that UNESCO would support such a plan. More likely in fact that their name and reputation are being exploited without their permission to lend support to this scheme.

I hope that someone in UNESCO is able to respond to this quickly, if only because their reputation seems to be at stake.

I have not visited Kashgar personally since spring this year ('09) but I hear reports from travelers to the region that the destruction of the old buildings has already begun. I hope it isn't too late to halt this plan and save what is left. Kashgar's future as a tourist and historical site depends on it.

(photo: a balcony in the old town, with characteristic arched openings, openwork carving and geometric tiles behind. Similar wood-framed balconies can be found on the houses formerly owned by wealthier Kashgar citizens in many parts of the old town. The style is a unique local synthesis that is not found elsewhere in China)

Earlier this year I posted an entry in this blog about my visit to the old city of Kashgar, and remarked that the ancient mud-brick town was still in remarkably good shape.

It seems my optimism was premature. The local government in Kashgar has formulated a plan to replace all the existing mud-brick dwellings with modern brick structures. This will eliminate at a stroke what is possibly the only surviving, virtually complete medieval Muslim walled settlement left within China's borders.

The issues of destruction of cultural heritage and loss of history, memory and place that this raises are highlighted in an article by Jim Stent and He Shuzhong of the Beijing Cultural Heritage Protection Center, that appears in this month's edition of Orientations Magazine (October 2009), and also on the CHP's own website.

The pictures at left show a medieval doorway in Kashgar that I photographed during my trip earlier this year. Whilst this particular entry way might not seem very significant, it does contain clues to the great age of the old town. In particular the degree to which the kerbstone of the doorway lies below the current street level (it is "sunken" around 30cm) suggests that it is several centuries old. Over time the ground level of traditional towns rises slowly, as footpaths are re-made with new material. Sunken doorways are a common feature of traditional settlements across the world, and have even been used by urban archaeologists to make a rough estimate the ages of dwellings within such towns.

The other striking feature of this doorway is the carved lintel above it, with its carved vine motif. This is a classical Silk Road design, present on carved wood excavated from even earlier times than the old town at Kashgar. The lintel was probably painted at one time, but the paint is now entirely gone. The lintel might have been carved at the time the doorway was made, or it might be an even older piece that has been re-used from another structure.

Aside from the loss of a unique architectural gem, the re-building of the town is a potential economic loss to Kashgar. It is unlikely that foreign tourists will journey to Kashgar to see a Disney-fied version of the town. I urge those involved with this to re-consider before much is lost that will never be replaced.