Interview with Yin Haijie： What was lost in the renovation of Harbin Daowai Historic District？

Harbin is a city with a history of only over a hundred years. Daowai District is an old city in Harbin, which was formed and developed earlier. It is also a witness to the historical memory of the city. There are not only buildings known as "Chinese Baroque", but also living carriers of Harbin folk snacks, performing arts, business and other cultures.

However, since the first phase of renovation project was started in 2007, Daowai historical block has suffered from blind renovation and tourism development. According to Yin Haijie, a professor of sociology at Harbin Institute of Technology, "the old road in people’s memory has changed its appearance, and the’ soul’ outside the road has been tottering."

About four or five years ago, Yin Haijie began to pay attention to all kinds of problems in the process of renovation of historical blocks outside Harbin. In 2014, he published a paper entitled "Cultural Mourning in the Renovation of Historical Blocks outside Harbin", which bluntly pointed out that "this renovation project, which started with the protection of historical buildings and culture outside Harbin, has gone astray in the complicated and chaotic competition for interests, and cultural protection has become neglected or too busy for all parties.

Nowadays, in the face of the rapid development of urbanization, not only Harbin, but also the protection of historical blocks all over the country is undergoing increasingly severe challenges. Therefore, The Paper (www.thepaper.cn) interviewed Professor Yin Haijie.

The PaperHow did the research topic of the renovation of historical blocks outside Harbin come into your sight?

Yin haijieI have been paying attention to Daowai Historic District for a long time, because it is the earliest developed area after Harbin opened its port. Moreover, I am from Harbin. When I was young, I liked the atmosphere outside the old road, and I often went there for a stroll when I was in college.

Harbin is a city formed by the construction of the Middle East Railway in modern times. In the 1920s and 1930s, the so-called "westernization" and "Europeanization" in Harbin were so fierce that after Zhang Xueliang came here, did he think it was still China? Then he promoted the construction of the Confucian Temple in Harbin, and wrote the Inscription of the Confucian Temple in Harbin.

After the opening of Harbin, China’s national capitalists and foreign comprador fought fiercely in this land, and in the process, China’s national capitalists did not lose to them. One of the most important things to remember is Wu Baixiang. I think he should be a figure in the history of China’s commercial development. He established a shareholder system similar to the present one long ago, and his internal management is very good.

Wu Baixiang founded the famous Tongji Shopping Mall outside the old road. My uncle used to work as a clerk in Tongji Shopping Mall. He once told me that Tongji Shopping Mall’s business area is half that of Lin Qiu Company (a Russian-run shopping mall), but its turnover is twice that of it. Tongji Shopping Mall was a very popular place in those days, and the building was also a "Chinese Baroque" style combining Chinese and Western styles. Originally, there were four mirrors at the entrance, and all passers-by had to take a photo. It was a very important landmark building in Harbin.

Chinese Baroque Architecture

About four or five years ago, I noticed some distressing things in Daowai area. One was barbaric transformation. After the workers came, all the walls were shoveled off. In fact, there were good diagrams and signs on them. Secondly, Tongji shopping mall was demolished, which is a sad thing for Harbin people.

The PaperIs the case of the renovation of the historical block outside Harbin typical in China?

Yin haijie: It should be typical. Nowadays, in the process of urbanization in the whole country, there are actually not many old cities left. I feel that the preservation of historical blocks in urban construction is a particularly urgent task. When I go abroad, in some countries, no one has the right to demolish buildings as long as they are more than 80 years old, regardless of the quality of the buildings themselves. If you want to demolish them, you must get the consent of the parliament.

But now we are very casual. When businessmen come, they can tear it down if they want. Some of them have even been listed as historical protected buildings, but they can still be torn down in some way. For example, Harbin demolished all the sites where the northeast anti-Japanese hero General Li Zhaolin was killed. It is a beautiful small building in itself. So I say that the protection of historical blocks is a very urgent task, but as a scholar, I often feel very powerless.

The Paper: According to your investigation, what forces are there in the process of rebuilding historical blocks outside Daodao?

Yin haijieI think the leading force is the government and developers, or the transformation reflects the will of a more harmonious political and business relationship. In contrast, the power of culture is too weak, and scholars like us just speak. Some old local residents are also ordinary people at the bottom of society. They have neither the right to participate in the renovation of historical blocks nor the possibility to speak out.

Overall, it is dominated by the government and implemented by developers, and the loss of culture becomes inevitable. However, a few years ago, local media and scholars also made some appeals. I am gratified that the large-scale destructive demolition has slowed down.

The PaperIt has been more than two years since your paper was published. Has the situation changed?

Yin haijie: there is basically no big change. Because Harbin wants to transform "Chinese Baroque Street" into a commercial tourist destination, it has been transformed. Now it’s called "repairing the old as before". After the merchants are moved away, the interior is renovated and then the investment is invited. This is basically the mode.

Even so, after re-inviting investment, everyone still likes it very much, because the "Chinese Baroque" building complex itself is very valuable, and the characteristics of combining Chinese and Western are very distinct. It is in contrast with another central street in Harbin, which is completely European-style, and it is two completely different cultural areas. I generally agree with this transformation. Although I haven’t given enough consideration to the loss of culture, at least the building has been preserved now.

Architectural art survived, but the living culture died.

The PaperWhat lessons do you think we should learn from this transformation?

Yin haijieAs a sociologist, I still pay more attention to the cultural characteristics of the city, which are more reflected in people’s life and management methods. Specific to Daowai District, the merchant culture here is particularly developed. Some people say that children outside will sell steamed buns at the age of 4, but this culture is not a solidified thing.

During the transformation, we should investigate all kinds of cultural elements and consider how to keep them in place. For example, food culture, the government should ask developers to find ways to make those small shops survive after the transformation. There are many snacks in Harbin outside the old road, and now there may be less than a quarter left, but even so, it can attract diners from all directions. We all hope that those "small burying shops" can survive. Their frontispiece is very small, and there are only two or three tables when they go in, but the taste they make is delicious. Like this, the government should try to help them keep their original flavor, improve their sanitary conditions and so on, and try to keep it there. But not now, as long as there is no money, you can only move away.

Laojie casserole house

In addition, there are many performing arts cultures in Daowai historical block, such as donkey shadow play, puppet show, etc. Originally, many "circle buildings" walked into it, which was a small stage. We should consider how to keep these in place during the transformation process. I think this aspect is not enough.

I call on government departments to consider culture first, then architecture, and then commerce and tourism in the process of rebuilding historical blocks. Culture must come first, not commerce. At least this thinking logic should be changed.

The PaperCultural protection and commercial development seem to be eternal problems and contradictions in the transformation of urban historical blocks.

Yin haijieYes, in this process, cultural protection is being ignored. Only the government can do this. If the government does not act, cultural protection will become empty talk. I think this is also a very important reason why our country is now "one thousand cities on one side". In the process of transformation, administrative forces often do not consider the value of culture at all.

The PaperAs far as you can see, are there any cases that have been done well in the whole country?

Yin haijieI remember that Kuanzhai Lane in Chengdu should have done a better job.

I have only been to the three lanes and seven alleys in Fuzhou, which gives me the feeling that the facade of the lanes and alleys has only been preserved. Sometimes when the door is opened, there is a clearing, and there are no buildings left, only walls left. Of course, it is not easy to keep it like this, but such buildings are not alive.

Outside the old road, it is a bit like the overpass in old Beijing, and all kinds of performing arts culture are very developed. If the old building of the overpass is still there, but the artists are gone, then this culture will be gone, right? I think cultural protection is imminent.

Because I like the old culture myself, I want to find such a place everywhere, but now it is almost gone. Historical blocks carry cultural memories, but we have destroyed too much in urban construction, especially in the large-scale urban transformation and relocation in the 1990 s. This is our big failure.

The Paper: What about the situation abroad?

Yin haijieI lived in Japan. We know that Japanese cities were badly damaged by World War II, but Nara and Kyoto were well protected. I know a Japanese professor who likes China culture very much. He said that Nara is a small Chang ‘an and Kyoto is a small Luoyang, so he also wanted to visit our Xi ‘an and Luoyang. Later, after I took him to see it, I left in great disappointment. How can I compare with Nara and Kyoto? The historical blocks have been completely destroyed, which is really regrettable. I feel very sorry after reading it for days.

The PaperDo you think there is a conflict between the economic slowdown in Northeast China and cultural protection?

Yin haijieCultural protection can only bring long-term economic benefits, and it can only promote the economy, not lead to economic decline. It is precisely because we don’t pay attention to cultural protection that a city has no culture and vitality and will eventually decline completely. A city with culture will always exude charm.

The following is an excerpt from Yin Haijie’s thesis by The Paper:

In 2007 and 2010, the first and second reconstruction projects of Daowai Historic District were started. The location is the most concentrated and exquisite part of existing Chinese Baroque buildings, namely Jingyang Street, Jingyu Street, Nansidao Street and Nanxun Street. After the second phase of the project, the third phase of the project with a larger area will be started soon.

This massive and time-consuming renovation project has involved many stakeholders, such as the government, developers, residents, old shops and so on, and all parties have started a game from their respective positions. In this interest-oriented game space led by the government and developers, the cultural protection of historical blocks is bound to be distorted. Under the pressure of transformation and the lure of interests, time-honored brands have gradually become "stale", and the interests of residents have nowhere to stretch, so they can only make a living by forbearing. No one has noticed that this renovation project, which started with the protection of historical buildings and culture outside the old road, has gone astray in the complicated and chaotic competition for interests, and cultural protection has become a blind spot that all parties have intentionally ignored or neglected.

First, the old brand: in the gap between the system transition and the wave of development

After several historical changes, some of these old brands have moved away from their original places, some have changed their flags, some have disappeared, and more have been lost under the demolition bulldozers. At present, there are only a few old brands left in Jingyu Street, such as Lao Dingfeng, Shiyitang and Hendry Glasses, but they have all been corporatized. Only a small number of shops still maintain the business model of "front shop and back factory" in the original old house (that is, processing at the back and selling at the front, which belongs to the traditional business model of small workshop).

The author mainly interviewed the traditional time-honored shops and corporatized time-honored shops.

Keeping the traditional time-honored brands often retains the original operation mode of shops and factories in front of them, and the current leaders are still the heirs of the time-honored brands, mostly from the old employees who worked here when they were young, and bought back the state-owned shops after the reform and opening up. Some of the time-honored brands rely on traditional flavor and favorable traffic location, and their business has been very prosperous, especially recognized by some old customers.

In fact, it is difficult for such a time-honored brand to get government support and protection. In addition, because it has changed from a state-owned enterprise to a private enterprise, it still maintains the standard of tax payment when it is state-owned, which makes some shops inefficient. The owner of Donglaishun said this:

"Now I have gone to the old-age pension and the room rate, and there is no big income. The high taxes paid by enterprises like us are all coming from state-owned enterprises, and taxes cannot be avoided. If you don’t want to pay taxes like that, you have to change your brand. If you take this brand off, it will be blind for hundreds of years. "

When the old shops can still be used, most of them are still willing to maintain the status quo and maintain the business characteristics and traditional flavor of the old brands. For example, Donglaishun, Hongguang Wonton Restaurant, etc. However, there are also some well-known Laozi shops that can’t resist the temptation of interests and the pressure of government decrees, and move away from their original places and transform them into modern mass-produced hotels, such as Zhangbaopu and Fanjiyong.

Although these shops have maintained their original flavor in history, their owners often have the conservative consciousness of small merchants, are short-sighted and only care about business. The culture carried by the shops is at most a signboard for their profit, and they do not cherish the culture itself. When the author asked about the history and culture of the time-honored brand, their attitude was very indifferent. The shopkeeper in Laodu replied, "There is nothing to say, just look at the introduction and you will know everything. We will tell you those things."

For the renovation of Daowai block, most shop owners have no concern about culture, but complain that the popularity of Daowai block has dropped sharply due to the renovation of pedestrian street and the cancellation of public transportation.

After the corporatization, the managers and employees of the time-honored shops are uniformly deployed by the superior companies, and most of them are young, and they have no inheritance relationship with the responsible persons in the history of the time-honored shops. The understanding of the history and culture of the time-honored shops only stays in the written introduction, which shows that the vivid history and culture have disappeared. The current manager of Shiyitang is an elder sister in her thirties. She is at a loss about the history and culture of Shiyitang.

Q: "Do you know anything about the history of the World Hall?"

A: "I don’t understand. Look at me, I’m so young and I just transferred here (take me outside the store and just show me the old brand signs and photos of the founders posted in the window)."

Q: "Do you have any inheritance relationship with him?"

A: "No, we are all from Shiyitang Pharmaceutical Company, not the original family type."

Some time-honored brands will retain some traditional techniques and techniques, but it is generally believed that the use of advanced equipment and the standardization of corporate management are in line with the development of the times, and traditional and backward things should be eliminated.

As for the ongoing block renovation here, because these workers are not indigenous residents outside the road, they just come to work here during the day, and they are completely unaware of the block renovation and cultural protection here.

Second, residents and ordinary merchants: in the relocation storm of leaving their homes,

Most of the residents and merchants interviewed have memories of the prosperous period after the end of the Cultural Revolution in the 1970s. In retrospect, a sense of pride as an outsider is beyond words, which is enough to see the splendid past of Daowai, leaving a deep impression on people’s hearts. As for the present situation outside Daoism, most of the residents interviewed think that it is not as good as before, and it is in decline, which is very regrettable. It is very sad that a large number of historical buildings, especially some popular old shops, have been demolished, just like remembering shopping malls. During the interview, several veteran residents said:

Interviewee 1: "How many places have been divided outside this road? Hongqi, Liaohe and Xianfeng Road, which are ceramics and collective strength, are all divided by outsiders. Earlier, our place was quite lively."

Interviewee 2: "This is really a bit extinct. Now there are few old brands outside the road, and the best ones outside the road are the same ones. "

Interviewee 3: "Tongji was the most popular in the early days, but it hasn’t been good since it was finished." Oh, my God, you didn’t even know about the old classmate earlier. Wow, it’s so beautiful. Once you go in, it’s like walking around the stairs. The thing of collecting money is like this. After that, you buy tickets and come back. When I was a child, I loved to go there and look in the mirror when I was finished. "

Interviewee 2: "Tongji’s manager (who stripped Tongji’s shopping mall) should be shot. If there is a classmate now, he can’t even open a shop. It’s a museum, and no one can enter, so he has to put a gun to it. The haha mirror at the door is sold for ten yuan (angry). "

A sea of people’s Tongji shopping mall

The newly-built Tongji Shopping Mall after being demolished has no trace of history (from the author’s field visit and shooting)

In the eyes of these ordinary people, the protection and planning of Daowai historical blocks is a matter for the government, and the people are powerless before the will of the government, so some people express helplessness and indifference. A small tailor shop owner in his fifties said this:

"Now it’s not what ordinary people want. The government has its own plan, and it can do whatever it wants. The ordinary people don’t seem to have any effect. You are looking for residents to investigate now, and you can’t find anything. "

In the interview, the author found that these old residents outside Daodao are very concerned about the housing problem. After understanding, it was found that the government wanted to move the residents here to Qunli (located in the outer suburbs of Harbin) in order to plan the tourist attractions outside Daodao as a whole, because the residents did not want to "change from city people to country people" and unanimously opposed it. Several 60-and 70-year-old Daowai residents complained about the government’s relocation:

"People don’t want to go, so let’s join forces. Where is the collective strength? It seems to be Acheng, far away, going to the countryside. This is not the Cultural Revolution, and people have not made mistakes. This is a good person."

However, the real historical buildings outside Daodao (that is, the "circle building") have extremely poor living conditions after the residents moved out. They are dilapidated due to years of disrepair, and there is no water supply and heating. The aging circuits and wooden structures often cause fires. Among the residents who did not cooperate with the relocation, the young and economically qualified residents abandoned their old houses and left their homeland to buy houses and live elsewhere; The elderly residents who have no economic strength and poor physical strength have to stay in these old houses, and their miserable life has never been asked again. Because of the low rent, most of the idle old houses are occupied by migrant workers who do small businesses, and they usually pay less attention to the use and maintenance of the houses, which aggravates the fire hazard of the old houses. An aunt who lives in an old circle building said this:

"In recent years, the rich are not living here. Nobody cares about this street. It’s all old wires that are always on fire. And the renters here are all from the countryside, and they don’t pay attention. But we have to pay attention, or where to live. "

The current situation of "circle building" in disrepair (from the author’s field visit and shooting)

The old buildings facing the street are covered with traces of fire (from the author’s field visit)

Residents reported that the number of the original residents in Daowai Old Street has been reduced by more than half. After the shops closed in the evening, the merchants who did business also returned to live elsewhere. At night, there was no one in the streets and lanes, which became what people called "ghost towns" and "dead cities".

The basic livelihood of ordinary people has not been solved. How can we talk about the historical and cultural protection of metaphysics? "House" has become the biggest pain in the hearts of the residents here. They have no choice but to regard it as the price that the block transformation has made them bear innocently, so most residents are very disgusted with the protection of baroque buildings here. As for these historic buildings, residents don’t care about their historical and cultural values, and they don’t understand that the government spends a lot of money to repair these impractical buildings.

"If you appeal, just tell us about it, we want to solve the problem of food and clothing, but we want to give us a big house on the spot outside the road. As for anything in their country, we don’t want to know. It has nothing to do with us. It has to solve our problems. "

"What’s the point of protecting it, college students! Some buildings should be torn down, or people will be killed. You can earn money in Gai Lou and solve the difficulties for the residents. You are the whole Baroque, really! My opinion is that we shouldn’t do baroque here. If we repeat it, we should rip it all off and build a tall building. It’ s great, guarding the riverside, you can look at the riverside when you are tall. This building has to sell more pieces. "

"Chinese baroque is no matter how good it is. It is an object left over from history. It is impossible for ordinary people to undertake this matter. You will give ordinary people a spacious house, which is stronger than anything else."

Third, the government and tourism developers: in the joint operation of power and capital,

During the investigation, the author found that all the areas involved in the first phase and the second phase of the Chinese Baroque Block outside Daowai were developed into commercial projects, Erdao Street was building a pedestrian street, and Sandao Street had been developed into a film and television base and a modern leisure area with eight themes.

Zeng Yizhi, a senior reporter and editor of Heilongjiang Daily and a member of the China Cultural Relics Society, summed up the renovation project of Daowai Historical District in his blog post: "The first and second renovation projects of Chinese Baroque moved a large number of indigenous residents to the outer suburbs on the grounds of’ emergency rescue of dangerous houses’ for the sake of overall planning, and moved many old shops away from their original places by means of monetary compensation. The separation of people and houses has forced the original commercial and residential blocks to be changed into commercial and financial land. "

For the original historical buildings, in the first phase of the Chinese Baroque project started in 2007, the plane layout of Nanerdao Street and Nansandao Street, which are within the core protection scope of historical and cultural blocks, was completely changed, some old buildings were demolished and newly built, and the rest buildings were only left with the facade facing the street, and the buildings in the courtyard were completely demolished. The second phase of the project is still repeating the same mistakes. During the implementation process, not only many historical buildings within the core protection scope were destroyed, but also many century-old hutongs were not spared in the construction control zone. Many Daowai residents also expressed their indignation at the government’s massive demolition of historical buildings in interviews:

"This transformation method is wrong. Everything is business and money. What is this called protection? This is making money! We used to be all such buildings outside the road, but now we don’t have them. All the really good ones have been smashed, and now we think of protection. "

For the indigenous residents and shops, as reflected in the above interview, in order to develop commercial projects, the government moved all the indigenous people in this area to the vicinity of the ceramic market near the port authority on the grounds of "reconstruction of dangerous houses". It is understood that in this area, dangerous houses only account for 9.47% of all houses. The merchants are relocated by monetary compensation, but the difference between compensation and relocation is too high, which makes it impossible for those merchants who have been operating here for many years to move back.

However, in fact, the current situation of government investment promotion is not optimistic. It is understood that the first phase of the project has never been rented out. The author visited and found that there are still many vacant rooms on both sides of the unfinished pedestrian street in the second phase, and the existing businesses only entered under the preferential policy of rent-free in the first two years.

The investment reception center and the renovated vacant houses on the pedestrian street are attracting investment (from the author’s field visit and shooting)

Besides, these old shops, which have been recruited again, have not only moved away from the original site, but also transformed from small shops that were traditionally operated into modern mass-produced hotels, and the old flavor no longer exists. In order to expand publicity and increase interests, these cultures have become worthless victims. When talking to a section chief about the present Zhang Baopu, she said:

"Now these things (referring to the newly opened old-fashioned restaurants on the pedestrian street) can’t be eaten, and they are put on this street. In fact, they are well-known, but in fact, the original old taste is wrong. Then what do you mean by old taste? You used to eat it, but now it tastes different. If you haven’t eaten it before, it will be the same if you come for the first time now, won’t it? Nowadays, mass production is definitely different from before, and it will be even worse if tourists are invited to make group meals. However, the original old shop is too broken, and the business philosophy is not good. The benefits are definitely not so good. "

The interior of the modern "Zhangbaopu" new store (from the author’s field visit)

To sum up, the government and developers take the development of commercial tourism as the guide to rebuild historical blocks, and the overall environment of the blocks is destroyed. At the same time, the real historical buildings-the vacant houses after the residents moved are unprotected and repaired, waiting for bulldozers to repeat the old dreams of history in the stormy weather. The coexistence of people and houses can inherit the living historical context, and now the historical block without people and houses has become a dead street. All this, in turn, makes the government’s investment promotion process difficult and bitter.

(Authorized by the author, this article is excerpted from Yin Haijie and Wang Xueyang: "Cultural Mourning in the Reconstruction of Urban Historic Blocks —— Taking Daowai Historic Blocks in Harbin as an Example", published in Modern Urban Research, 06, 2014. )