Second thoughts on Beijing's new Olympic-inspired architecture

The new Beijing may not be best for China.

from the March 31, 2008 edition

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Across town, and next door to the Forbidden City, developer Handel Lee is busy converting the former American Embassy – built in the dying days of the Qing Dynasty – into another international icon of Chinese extravagance, featuring chic imports like a Daniel Boulud restaurant from New York and the swanky nightclub Boujis from London. As the perfect example of Beijing's "me, too" attitude, it's telling that Mr. Lee's last project was Three on the Bund, a cultural venue that revitalized Shanghai's riverfront. And because he's gunning for the same glamorous feel, Lee has been quick to eschew provincial themes like gaudy pagoda roofs. "It's contemporary architecture," he says. "We're definitely not trying to mimic Chinese motifs."

Thankfully not everyone's quick to take the Beijing out of Beijing's architecture. Last year, Shauna Liu, born and bred in Beijing, opened Côté Cour, the first upscale hotel set in a traditional courtyard or siheyuan. Here, in one of the last cultural enclaves in the city, not much has changed since Ms. Liu's siheyuan was first built 500 years ago. Neighbors exchange gossip, kids run down the packed hutongs, and vendors hawk everyday goods like fresh fruit and pirated DVDs (OK so one thing's changed). She's managed to fuse the authentic Chinese design with a Western splash of style, bringing in Venetian plaster, glass tiles, and a lily pond. And guests couldn't be happier – she's almost booked for this year's Olympics. "You need people to experience history," Liu tells me.

Sadly, even though China's populace is no longer so complacent or disconnected, in the push to modernize, the central government has gutted Beijing's very soul.

A generation ago, some 6,000 hutongs wove through the pedestrian-friendly city. Now less than a thousand remain. More than a million local residents have been tossed into the streets, their homes commandeered in the Olympics frenzy. The whole situation ominously smacks of Mao's conquest of the capital in 1949, when he seized the siheyuans and tore down the historic city wall to make room for a humdrum slew of factories.

Millions of peasants and migrant workers are expected to pour back into Beijing after the Olympics, and the city's wealth gap continues to widen, making it hard to maintain President Hu Jintao's vision of a "harmonious society." One thing's for sure though, a doughnut-shaped icon won't be able to feed the poor.

Jerry Guo is a freelance writer. He has reported extensively throughout China.

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