A 20-year-old owner of nearly a century-old residence in Shanghai was reportedly asked to construct a replica of the real estate she demolished, in a case that has aroused online discussion about private ownership of historic properties.
The residential structure was built by influential Hungarian architect Hugyecz Laszlo, and has stood the test of time since the 1930s until it was brought down to ruins a few months ago by an unnamed young woman who had bought the estate.
The destroyed building, located at No.888 Julu Road in Jing’an District in downtown Shanghai, was one of the 12 detached houses dotting the road since the 1930s. But passerby today will see green nets surrounding steel skeletons standing out like an eyesore among brick covered roofs.
Julu Road in Jing'an District, Shanghai. /VCG Photo
The house was classified as a historic building in 1999 by the Shanghai municipal government, but that was not sufficient to remove the property from the real estate market. It was bought by the unidentified lady in 2016 for 80 million yuan (11 million US dollars).
According to The Paper, a Shanghai-based news portal, the demolition was first reported by a local resident surnamed Bao who approached local authorities last month, around half a year after the historic building turned to rubble.
“It took a long time to contact the owner after we were informed about the condition of the destroyed building. We will require the owner to restore the construction to its original appearance and impose administrative penalty on her,” an official from the renewal management center of Jing’an District told The Paper.
A new building is under construction on the site of the destroyed old building. /The Paper Photo
The news outlet cited a professional in historic preservation as saying that the damage to the cultural heritage of the building is irrevocable.
“There is a supervisory network covering the city’s relics. If departments at all levels fulfill their duties, it would be possible to discover the ruined construction,” the expert added.
According to the local laws related to architectural heritage, any relic can be revamped as long as the construction work receives permission from the local government and the housing and land departments. If renovation pushes ahead without having the legal documents, the owner is obliged to resume the original look of the historic building and will be fined up to five times the market value of the property.
A green net now surrounds the real estate. /VCG Photo
The architectural imprint of European colonialists is still visible in Shanghai, giving the city a cultural flair that is so unique to it. The housing authority of Shanghai has so far published five lists of selected historical constructions comprising over 1,000 relics.
However, calls for preservation have, at times, fallen on deaf ears.
In 2003, a real estate company damaged part of a historical building in the city’s Xuhui District and was fined 2.1 million yuan (300,000 US dollars), in the first case of its kind since the regulation came into effect at the beginning of that year.
Historical buildings on the Bund in Shanghai. /VCG Photo
In the 21st century, preservation of architectural heritage is as important as city development. Cities across China have incorporated preservation programs in their city planning. Beijing, for instance, established an overall mechanism for protection of old districts, optimization of central parts of the city and development of the new area of the city.
On Chinese social platforms, netizens were not floored with the news.
“She lacks legal knowledge. It is a historic building and you cannot touch it without approval even if you are the owner. If you are going to renew it or use it, you need to get permission. If you do not follow this, please do not purchase it,” said a user on China's Twitter-like Weibo who goes by the name @Xiaocangshan.
“You have the ownership of the building, but that does not mean you can re-structure it, not to mention demolish it,” noted another user @yihua28.
