Rebuilding of ruined royal palace triggers debate

A bird's-eye view of a replica of the Old Summer Palace, also known as Yuanmingyuan, in Hengdian, East China's Zhejiang province, which will partially open in May. [Photo/IC]

Hengdian Group, which owns a movie town in Hengdian, Zhejiang province, recently announced it has partly finished recreating the Old Summer Palace in the movie town and it will open it to the public on May 10. But the managers of the Old Summer Palace historical site claim their rights are being violated. Comments:

The plan to recreate the Old Summer Palace was originally stopped by the local authorities because residents reported it was against local land use policy. The construction restarted later after some changes. However, the process by which Hengdian Group obtaining approval to build its garden lacks transparency, with some saying it is still against policy. Local authorities need to make their approval procedures for projects transparent to allay the public's suspicions.

Beijing Times, April 19

What rights do the Beijing Old Summer Palace historical site managers own? The garden was neither designed nor built by them, while rebuilding one 1,000 kilometers away won't harm the historical site or its relics. The only possible negative impact is fewer tourists will visit the historical site in Beijing, thus causing a decline in its business revenue. The managers are not trying to defend their rights, but their own selfish interests.

Ding Qizhen, a vice-professor at Beijing Foreign Studies University, via ifeng blog, April 18

The Old Summer Palace was built at the cost of the whole nation but open to the royal family only; if the recreation in the movie town opens to the public, it will help more people know about our history and get a chance to engage with the past. Therefore why is the Hengdian Group to be blamed? That's progress.

Yang Jianhua, a senior researcher on public policies at Zhejiang Academy of Social Sciences, April 19