Strict investigation of dereliction of duty and dereliction of duty, Tianshui responded by "converting ancient buildings protected with 800 million yuan into Japanese style restaurants": rectifying illegal behavior in courtyards | Ancient City | Tianshui

On August 19th, CCTV News published "Station Observation | Why Cultural Heritage Courtyards Have Changed in Taste?", reporting on issues such as changing the original appearance of cultural relics, illegal unauthorized construction, arbitrary changes in business formats, lack of approval and supervision, and numerous fire hazards in multiple cultural heritage courtyards in Tianshui Ancient City, Gansu Province.

On the 20th, the Tianshui Municipal Party Committee and Government responded that after a reporter from China Central Television interviewed the development and utilization of the cultural heritage courtyard in the ancient city of Xiguan in Tianshui, a local inspection team was immediately established to formulate rectification measures and track the progress of rectification.

Ancient architectural complex

After the broadcast of the report, the Tianshui Municipal Party Committee and Government stated: firstly, they sincerely accept CCTV's public opinion supervision and promptly report the situation of problem rectification. Secondly, based on the preliminary investigation and rectification, relevant departments will carry out a new round of safety hazard investigation and rectification within the scope of Tianshui Ancient City, establish a list and ledger for the discovered problems and hazards, and set a deadline for rectification and cancellation. The third is led by the cultural relics regulatory department to conduct a "major inspection" and "major rectification" of cultural relics protection units throughout the city. At the same time, we will concentrate on promoting cultural relic protection knowledge. The fourth is led by the fire department, in conjunction with emergency management, cultural tourism and other departments, to carry out special inspections and rectification of safety production and fire hazards on cultural relics and ancient buildings and other cultural heritage units throughout the city. The fifth is led by the cultural and tourism departments, inviting cultural relics protection experts to provide training on relevant laws and regulations related to cultural relics protection to the operating enterprises and merchants of Tianshui Ancient City, guiding them to prioritize cultural relics protection and safety prevention while activating the market atmosphere. The sixth is led by the disciplinary inspection and supervision organs to carry out supervision and inspection on the implementation of responsibilities such as cultural relic protection and fire safety, and to seriously investigate and deal with problems such as lack of supervision, dereliction of duty, inaction, disorderly behavior, and slow action.

According to previous reports, as August approaches, the "hottest summer season" for tourism has arrived as scheduled, and ancient city tours have become a popular choice for many tourists. The precious historical and cultural heritage is a precious treasure left to us by our predecessors. However, in Tianshui, Gansu, many citizens and tourists have discovered that after the commercial operation of the newly renovated Tianshui Ancient City, many business formats have entered the cultural heritage courtyard. Not only are the visiting areas restricted, the consumption threshold has been raised, and some have even been "transformed", endangering the safety of the courtyard. Regarding this, the head office reporter conducted on-site visits and investigations.

Change the original appearance, build illegally, and protect it like this after 800 million repairs?

Screenshot of the report

The front desk reporter arrived at a Japanese style restaurant located at No. 13 Housheng Lane in the ancient city of Tianshui. This is a cultural heritage courtyard built during the Ming and Qing dynasties. But now, we can no longer see the Chinese style ancient buildings with spacious courtyards, black bricks and black tiles, and carved beams and painted rafters. The courtyard and Taiming are covered with wooden boards, creating a Japanese style. Two Japanese style cabins are also added to the west wing room.

Is it reasonable to make such a significant change in appearance and cover up? Will it cause damage to ancient buildings? The CCTV reporter contacted Huang Guoxiang, who was then a special consultant for Tianshui Ancient City and an expert in repairing ancient houses.

At the end of last year, Huang Guoxiang discovered problems during the renovation of this courtyard. Subsequently, he repeatedly requested the business entity to stop work and rectify the renovation plan, but the Gansu Provincial Public Aviation Travel, which was responsible for operating the Tianshui Ancient City at the time, ignored this and did not call for a halt.

This Japanese restaurant named "Youhe" has opened as scheduled. In the ancient city of Tianshui, a similar situation is not an exception.

In the cultural heritage courtyards of No.10 and No.12 Jiefang Road, it has also become a restaurant that specializes in catering and canned tea. The front desk reporter saw that fingerprint check-in machines were nailed to the meticulously repaired pillars, and in the backyard, the operator also added a color steel kitchen.

Tianshui, Gansu Province has a relatively large and well preserved group of residential courtyards from the Ming and Qing dynasties in northwest China. Due to its long history, many ancient buildings and houses have suffered varying degrees of damage. In order to rescue these ancient buildings, the local government has launched rescue protection measures in the Xiguan area, resulting in the revival of 29 cultural heritage sites, including 1 provincial-level protection, 3 county-level protection, and 25 protection points.

According to data from the Finance Bureau of Tianshui City, from 2015 to 2021, Tianshui City allocated more than 888 million yuan for the protection of the Xiguan Ancient City. Unexpectedly, less than two years later, the cultural heritage courtyard that was repaired at a high cost suffered a "facelift". Many businesses have entered and renovated courtyards, becoming tourist consumption places. Among the remaining cultural heritage courtyards, only three are open to the public for free.

What is the problem of the ancient city not being established before the approval of the business project?

The ancient building has been converted into a Japanese style restaurant

Why is there such a "capricious" phenomenon in the protection and utilization of cultural heritage courtyards? What types of businesses are operating in cultural heritage courtyards after the protection and restoration of public financial expenditures exceeding 800 million yuan?

In September 2022, the Culture, Sports, Radio, Television and Tourism Bureau of Qinzhou District, Tianshui City granted franchise rights to 29 cultural heritage units to Tianshui Famous City Protection Investment and Development Co., Ltd. At the same time, it was required that the display and utilization of these cultural heritage protection units should comply with relevant laws and regulations such as the Cultural Heritage Protection Law, follow relevant procedures, and complete approval and filing procedures in accordance with the law.

This means that whether it is the establishment of business formats or renovation, approval from at least the county-level cultural relics department is required. The reporter immediately went to the company to learn more. In the merchant files stored in the company, the reporter saw that the application materials for the cultural heritage courtyard do not match the current actual business model.

In addition to turning the operation of purple clay teapots into private dishes, there are also situations where taverns have become hotpot and tea houses have become restaurants. According to the requirements of the cultural heritage department, whether it is the establishment or change of business format, cultural heritage courtyards need to be declared and evaluated by experts before conducting business activities.

Wang Xiangjun, the head of the Cultural Relics Department of the Culture, Sports, Radio, Television, and Tourism Bureau of Qinzhou District, Tianshui City, stated that in September 2022, the Tianshui City Culture and Tourism Bureau had requested that the county-level cultural relics regulatory department regularly organize evaluations of the protection and utilization of cultural relics and buildings. And these "facelift" operations are all established and repaired without approval, and the requirements have become empty words. The regulatory authorities have no way to hold them accountable because they have not received any approval procedures.

Screenshot of the report

How to avoid the hidden dangers of illegally renovating ancient courtyards?

In the absence of supervision, multiple cultural heritage courtyards in Tianshui Ancient City have been illegally renovated and converted into restaurants, increasing the risk of fire prevention. The reporter followed the firefighters in the jurisdiction to conduct a random inspection of cultural heritage courtyards and found that fire hazards were everywhere.

At Courtyard 3 of Zhaojia Dayuan, the reporter saw that customers in the courtyard were using a gas stove to heat dishes, and the kitchen in the courtyard used liquefied gas for cooking, all of which had open flames. Several other restaurants also have the same problem.

The Guiding Opinions on Further Strengthening the Fire Safety Work of Cultural Relics clearly require that the use of open flames is prohibited in cultural relics buildings, and the use of open flames is strictly controlled within the protection scope of cultural relics protection units. This is because most ancient dwellings were built using wood and appeared in communities. Once a fire broke out and was not effectively controlled, it was easy to form a situation of "fire burning camps".

In addition, there are also issues in the cultural heritage courtyard, such as obstructing fire-fighting facilities, wrapping flammable materials around wooden structures, and privately pulling electrical wires.