Destroying China’s history in a bid to rebuild the past

Plans to rebuild a square are proving contentious, writes Louise Watt

IN A corner of old Beijing, the government may soon be both destroying history and remaking it.

District officials want to re-create a piece of China’s glorious dynastic past by rebuilding a square near the Drum and Bell towers in 18th-century Qing Dynasty fashion. To do it, they will demolish dozens of scuffed courtyard homes that preservationists say have themselves become a part of a cultural history that is fast disappearing as construction transforms the capital.