Road to destruction: the impact of insensitive road planning to sensitive heritage sites, a case study ofthe heritage impact of Wenfeng Road Central in Anyang

Abstract

Since Deng Xiaoping’s economic reform and liberalization policies in the 1980s, China has experienced accelerated economic development, and consequently, a high intensity of road planning and construction in many cities. Nevertheless, the protection of heritage site is not integrated as a component in road planning. As a result, many heritage buildings and structures have been demolished to make way for the roads, causing damage or destruction to those heritage sites.

The lack of consideration for heritage buildings and structures in road planning, which leads to the destruction of these built heritages, is not unique to China in modern times. The examples cited in this dissertation illustrate that the development of road network has intensified after W.W.II, as such infrastructural development is critical to modern economic development.

My home city, Anyang is experiencing the same “Road to Destruction”. As a prefecture-level city (地級市), Anyang is just starting to experience the intense economic and urban development that has already taken place in China’s first-tier cities (such as Beijing and Shanghai). The downside to this is that Anyang is repeating the “Road to Destruction” mistakes that have already been made (and sometimes corrected) by the first-tier cities. In this dissertation, I will elaborate on the case of Wenfeng Pagoda and Tianning Temple in my hometown to highlight such a mistake, which is on-going and, unfortunately, not likely to be corrected, with the aim of demonstrating the importance and urgent need for integrating heritage conservation with city planning.