In Abbas’s book Hong Kong: Culture and the politics of disappearance, he presented the relationship between architecture and colonial history.
What impressed me most is his argument of the preservation of old buildings.No matter intentionally or not, we attempt to preserve old buildings in sight, but unfortunately, the history these buildings represent is never in site. Simultaneously, with the disappearance of history, there’s suffering a loss of a critical sense of community.
I have personally experienced this kind of feeling. In mainland China, there are kinds of ancient towns in rural areas that attract and fascinate tourists from domestic and abroad. Therefore, because of the commercial value, more and more towns are discovered. Awkwardly, they exactly are designed to look similar to each other. Though we protect the appearance of them, the core of their culture and history is no longer in site.
Fu Shitong
3035772585/u3577258
Appreciate that you use your personal experience of the preservation of Ancient Chinese towns to extend Abbas’ points on preservation. Heritage tourism is a profitable way to promote a city in the name of preservation. You may wish to delve deeper into the notion of “Placelessness” and also the disappearance of history through preservation of history. Abbas cited Milan Kunders’ definition of colonialism as “the absolute denial of shit, in both the literal and figurative sense” (1997, 89). As only part of China has been colonialised (Shanghai, Tsingtao etc.), how is it or is it not applicable to your example in China?