District rebuts Shichahai speculation

Beijing’s Xicheng district on Friday refuted online speculation that an unnamed property developer has invested tens of billions of yuan in the renovation of the Shichahai area.

The area is the focus of a renovation project, rather than a business development and no buildings have been earmarked for demolition, the district said on its official account on Sina Weibo, a popular micro-blogging platform.

The local population will be decentralized according to residents’ wishes and renovation work will be undertaken to maintain the area’s traditional culture, the government said.

The 15.56 hectare project is intended to better conserve and protect the historic area by reducing the population, improving the infrastructure and environment and upgrading local industries, according to Xicheng district.

In response to the government’s statement, some observers said the old, crowded area, which has poor facilities and was a fire risk, should be replaced by a well-protected traditional-style neighborhood.

Some also emphasized the significance of project transparency and suggested the government announce which buildings are to be upgraded and which traditional features will be retained when the transformation is completed.