<nettime> Further demolitions of historic buildings in Lhasa

["Ricardo Bello" <aracal@well.com>]

Further demolitions of historic buildings in Lhasa 

The authorities in Lhasa have begun to demolish a building complex
under UNESCO protection in the traditional Tibetan area close
to the Jokhang Temple, the historic  
centre of the city. A three-storey century-old townhouse within
the complex that is also under the protection of the municipal
authorities in Lhasa may also be  
demolished, according to a reliable report from Lhasa. The traditionally-built
building complex is on the corner of Dekyi Shar Lam (Chinese:
Beijing Dong Lu) and Mentsikhang Lam, an area that falls within
the Lingkor, the traditional pilgrimage circuit around the Tibetan
capital. The impending demolition of the buildings marks a further
erosion of the urban fabric and traditional character of the
area. Several representatives made an unsuccessful appeal to
local officials to request that the demolition should not take
place, but tenants of the building  
complex were given five days notice to move out on 24 April.

 
A Western tourist who was in Lhasa a few days ago said that preparation
for demolition of the housing, which is almost opposite the Pentoc
hotel, was already in progress:  
"We saw all kinds of gutting work on the structure going on -
I'm sure it will be a pile of rubble in 10 days. The demolitions
seem to be happening so fast, all over the city." According to
a reliable report from Lhasa, the historic stone and mud brick
townhouse known as the Samding Khangsar now slated for demolition
will be replaced with a standard courtyard development, fronted
by a four-storey  
building in contemporary stonework. The entrance of the Samding
Khangsar house is near to the Yabshi Phunkhang, now run as a
restaurant, built as a residence for the family of the 11th Dalai
Lama, and known as one of the finest secular structures in Lhasa.

 
The townhouse threatened with demolition has been declared a
protected building at the municipal level in Lhasa, and it falls
within the protected zone of the Barkor under the UNESCO World
Heritage List. A spokesperson for UNESCO (the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) in Paris said
that they were "very concerned about the situation" and "would
try to halt this demolition before it happens". UNESCO has already
expressed concern about two recent architectural developments
in Lhasa - the construction of a 37-metre high monument to commemorate
 
the "peaceful liberation" of Tibet in the Potala Square (see:
http://www.tibetinfo.net/news-updates/2002/0402.htm)  
and a 13-storey Public Security Bureau building north of the
Barkor pilgrimage area (see: http://www.tibetinfo.net/news-updates/2002/2602.htm
). Both these developments are outside the protection zone of
the World Heritage List, but UNESCO has expressed concern on
the grounds that they are "intrusive" within  
the context of "the urban fabric of the city".  
 
Scandinavian architects Knud Larssen and Amund Sinding Larssen
have documented  the extent of the destruction of the old buildings
in Lhasa in The Lhasa Atlas:  
Traditional Tibetan Architecture and Townscape (Serindia Publications
2001). The architects report that nearly two out of three of
the old buildings of Lhasa  
inside the pilgrimage circuit of the Lingkor (there once numbered
more than a thousand) have now gone, with demolition reaching
a peak in the mid-1990s. The  
authors state: "Modern buildings go up in Lhasa with a speed
and efficiency rarely seen in other towns [in China]. Such speed,
economy and simple construction can  
make new housing appear dilapidated even before completion, and
thus many buildings put up in the 1990s may be short-lived and
expensive short-term investments for  
Lhasa. There are signs, however, that people want improved craftsmanship
in parts of the old town." 
 
The expulsion of a European non-governmental organisation, the
Tibet Heritage Fund, from Lhasa in 2000 indicated the particular
difficulties faced by those involved in cultural heritage work
in the current economic and political climate. The Tibet Heritage
Fund, which employed more than 200 local workers in Lhasa, had
been involved in restoring more than 70 historic buildings in
Lhasa, including houses and temples more than 1,200 years old.
There were reports that officials had accused the Tibet Heritage
Fund of a series of violations, including using unauthorised
construction firms, restoring unapproved sites and damaging social
order, which were disputed by the group. 
 
The authorities aim to more than quadruple the area of urban
Lhasa from its current 53 square kilometres to 272 square km
by 2015 and increase the urban population  
by 30 per cent over the next four years. The emphasis on economic
development in Lhasa has allowed the construction industry to
become increasingly influential, as seen in the transformation
of the urban landscape, with cultural heritage being assigned
a lower priority by the authorities. Knud Larssen and Amund Sinding
Larssen write in the Lhasa Atlas: "In 1983, the State Council
in Beijing approved the Lhasa Development Plan 1980 - 2000, which
has proved decisive for the city's urban development. The plan
defines protection of cultural heritage as a priority concern,
but today, after almost 20 years, it is fair to say that new
construction has won over the traditional townscape in a major
way". 
 
 
Note: A map and images of the area can be viewed at TIN's website
at: http://www.tibetinfo.net/reports/culture/lhasamap.htm and
in the  
section Images: Culture 


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