Palace scandal puts spotlight on use of relics
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A vehicle feeds electricity to a press launch held at Tai Miao Wednesday. Photo: Guo Yingguang/GT |
Commercial and cultural activities in historically protected structures need to be regulated by detailed government policies to give cultural heritages better protection while helping to boost funding, say experts.
The scandal following the revelation of the Forbidden City's plans for a "Jianfu Palace private club" has again brought the management of commercial operations in historic buildings into the limelight.
"Lack of funding for preservation is the problem for almost all historically protected units in Beijing, as government funding comes in small amounts and money made selling tickets can't make up for the expenses of daily preservation and repairs," Liu Zheng, a member of the China Cultural Relics Association, told the Global Times Wednesday.
"That's why there are so many activities going on in them, such as filming movies, running restaurants and holding concerts," said Liu. "It's to make money to afford the preservation work."
A Global Times reporter found that Tai Miao at the Beijing Working People's Culture Palace was unavailable for visitors Wednesday afternoon due to an activity there.
"It's an internal activity," said an employee with the palace who was sitting outside the gate to prevent visitors from entering. He told the Global Times that usually the palace holds public welfare-related activities, such as fitness or English study campaigns.
The driver of an electricity-generating vehicle parked outside with wires trailing through the gate was more helpful.
"It's a press launch for Bentley in there," he said.
Activities held in protected places such as Tai Miao should get approval from the Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage, Liu said, but currently there are no written regulations or standards about what types of activities can be held.
Generally, activities should be culture-related and appropriate for a place with great historical connotations, he said.
Commercial operations are acceptable if not held too often and as long as they don't excessively disrupt normal visiting hours, he added.
The daily rent for an activity at Tai Miao is up to 1 million yuan ($153,598) a day, a palace employee told the Beijing News Wednesday. A palace office director surnamed Sun declined to comment on that figure.
"It's good that the Jianfu Palace scandal was exposed, since we need the public's supervision on the protection of cultural heritages and their normal operations," Liu said.
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