Demolition of a house that belonged to the family of the Empress Dowager (1835-1908) of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) was forced to stop temporarily on Wednesday after an urgent notice was given, but not before much of the structure was already severely destroyed.

The Beijing Municipal Cultural Relics Bureau on Wednesday issued the urgent notice to suspend the demolition, which is part of an ongoing urban renovation project, pending further assessment of the house.

By the time the notice to halt construction was given, two of the five-room house was already in pieces.

"The assessment of the home's historical value should be sped up in order to protect the house," said Liu Jingdi, deputy director of the Dongcheng District Cultural Relics Bureau where the traditional residence is located.

Experts have said that the house was part of Guigongfu (Laurel Mansion), a residence bestowed by Empress Dowager in the mid1860s to her brother. Over the years, however, Guigongfu's large yard has been divided into two parts, one for residents and the other used by the government and later added to the State historic protection list as the only site of Guigongfu.

During the current urban renovation, the area that has become residential quarters was scheduled for demolition to make way for a real estate development, but several well-known history experts found out and urged officials for urgent protection.

Xu Pingfang, president of the China Association of Cultural Relics, said the home's style of construction, the structure of the wall separating it from a neighbouring residence, and the layout of the yard, all prove that the residence was part of the Guigongfu.

However Lou Qingxi, an architecture professor who appealed for the protection of the house, said even if a field investigation proves that the home is of historic value, some type of written evidence must be found for it to be on the historical protection list.

"Strictly speaking, the suspension could be lifted because the house has not been officially ranked as a historic protection site," the relics bureau's Liu told China Daily.

Hua Xinmin, a historical protectionist with the non-governmental Beijing Oriental Humanities Environment Protection Centre, urged people to learn from these incidents.

"Whether or not this house is saved, we as citizens must be more conscious of safeguarding our historical legacies because they can disappear forever without our active protection," Hua said.

( China Daily September 6, 2002)