Why does the cultural heritage courtyard in Tianshui, Gansu "lose its flavor"?, Changing the original appearance and building unauthorized restaurants | Cultural Heritage | Tianshui, Gansu

Entering August, 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?

The 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 reporter contacted Huang Guoxiang, a specially appointed consultant for Tianshui Ancient City and an expert responsible for 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 reporter saw that the meticulously repaired pillars were nailed with fingerprint check-in machines, 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?

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.

According to Wang Xiangjun, in September 2022, the Tianshui Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism requested that county-level cultural relics authorities 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.

How to avoid hidden dangers in 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.

Journalist's Notes

Can cultural heritage courtyards be commercialized? The answer is yes. Fully activating and utilizing cultural relics to revitalize the times is not only a liberation and rescue of ancient architecture, but also a beneficial measure to enrich the social, historical, and cultural connotations.

But how to commercialize it? Further rational exploration is needed. Management indulgence and regulatory oversight will only bring about numerous hidden dangers. Undoubtedly, the prerequisite for revitalizing and utilizing cultural relics is always to prioritize protection, and there is no path to blindly pursue profits, sacrifice cultural values, or let cultural heritage courtyards be destroyed again in the diverse paths to bring cultural relics to life.