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April 29, 2015

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New life planned for city’s old villages

SHANGHAI’S isolated neighborhoods and obscure byways are home to scores of traditional urban villages, many of which are crumbling and in desperate need of repair.

While the declining state of the city’s many hinterland hamlets is certainly nothing new, fresh efforts are underway to modernize these unique communities and improve the conditions of their inhabitants.

A recent study carried out by the Shanghai Urban Planning and Design Research Institute identified some 30 villages in nine districts that qualify for restoration. According to authorities, detailed plans are being drafted on how to renovate and revitalize these fading settlements.

“Such villages are in remote suburban areas that are close to Jiangsu or Zhejiang Province,” says Zhang Yi, director of the institute’s New Village Research Center.

But while the relative isolation may have dampened their exposure to the benefits of urbanization and industrialization, Zhang says many of Shanghai’s villages have their own special features and characteristics.

The Jinze Shagang Village in Qingpu District, one of the villages tipped for restoration, boasts plenty of charms and picturesque scenes. Lush farmlands flourish around the village each spring, while arched stone bridges connect residents living along a river that runs through the center of the settlement.

Homes abutting the water are painted pink and decked with black tile walls. In front of their homes many families also plant loofahs, which cover the adjacent walls with their hanging vines.

“The beauty of Shagang is amazing, yet there are still problems in the village,” says Fang Xin, Party secretary of the village.

The issues eluded to by Fang include a lack of regulation and management of the village’s roads, irrigation system and cemetery.

Meanwhile, also in Qingpu District, the Qiansheng Village is bisected by a straight boulevard that stands in pleasant contrast to the encroaching natural environment. Locals describe it as one of the most beautiful villages in Shanghai.

Unfortunately, the same level of praise cannot be applied to the village’s economic life. Plans to develop the community as a rural tourist site for visiting urbanites were mulled at one point, but largely scrapped. Today, the village includes a lonely camp site that is seldom used by tourists.

Further south, conditions in Pengdu Village in Minhang District are perhaps even more dire. Most of the village’s homes were built a century or more ago. Today, large portions of the village are dilapidated. Many locals were forced to move into make-shift structures, the construction of which has only further damaged the village.

Like Shagang, Pengdu and Qiansheng were both mentioned by officials as candidates for revival measures.

“There are always contradictions between economic development and heritage protection,” says Zhang. “We are working to find a balance between the two.”

According to financial data released by local village governments, relatively prosperous localities can earn around 10 million yuan (US$1.61 million) per year from agriculture and revenue derived from public assets.

More needy villages though may earn only a fraction of this amount.

“We are looking for practical plans, and tourism is on the list for some villages,” says Zhang, adding that authorities will “try their best not to let development ruin the original culture of the villages.”

Elsewhere, other aging villages in Shanghai have already moved in a positive direction. Under an experimental program launched in the Shicun Village of Fengxian District at the end of last year, officials hope to develop the local retirement services industry.

Urban planning experts called on Shicun to restore vacant homes and turn them into senior housing. An abandoned school in the village is also expected to be restored into an entertainment center for seniors.

Like many similar villages, most young people in Shicun have left to find work in cities, leaving their elderly relatives behind.

China’s ancient and long-neglected villages have garnered nationwide attention of late as more and more of these historic communities are knocked down to make way for modern real estate projects.

At a recent forum on ancient village protection held in Shanghai, experts said villagers themselves should play a leading role in safeguarding their homes and their ways of life.

This may be difficult to accomplish considering that many practical-minded locals see abandoning village life as a necessary step along the way toward upgrading their living standards.

“Villagers are not interested in intangible cultural legacies or other such concepts,” said Dr Du Xiaofan, an expert with UNESCO, at the forum. “Residents cannot live on legacies.”




 

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