Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
RAPID DEVELOPMENT
Economic Reform
Things began to change when Deng Xiaoping emerged from the shadows and set off in
1991 on a so-called 'southern tour', visiting his special economic zones in the south and
calling for more and faster reform. Despite opposition in the party, he won the day. China
began a wave of economic reforms, which transformed urban China and brought new
wealth and opportunities to most urban residents, though the political system remained un-
changed and some 40 million workers in state-owned factories lost their jobs. Deng's re-
forms pulled in a tide of foreign investment, creating two economic booms, after 1992 and
1998. Stock markets reopened, state companies were privatised and private enterprise
began to flourish, especially in the service sector, which created millions of new jobs. Over
100 million peasants left the countryside to work on construction sites or in export-process-
ing factories. The factories were moved out of Běijīng and the city once again became a
'centre of consumption'.
The Heritage Protection Battle
The economy was given a huge impetus by decisions to rebuild all major cities virtually
from scratch, privatise housing and sell 50- or 70-year land leases to developers. There was
resistance by Party Secretary Chen Xitong to the destruction of Běijīng's centre. During the
1980s and early 1990s, Chen approved redevelopment plans that aimed to preserve and re-
store Běijīng's historic centre and characteristic architecture. Chen had earlier helped per-
suade many army and civilian work units to vacate historical sites they'd occupied during
the 1970s. However, in 1995, he was ousted by Jiang Zemin, and imprisoned on corruption
charges.
Běijīng boasted over 3679 historic
hútòng
(narrow alleyways) in the 1980s, but only 430 were
left according to a field survey in 2006 by the Běijīng Institute of Civil Engineering & Archi-
tecture.
Rebuild & Relocate
Once the Party apparatus was under his direct control, President Jiang approved plans to
completely rebuild Běijīng and relocate its inhabitants. This was part of the nationwide ef-
fort to rebuild the dilapidated and neglected infrastructure of all Chinese cities. The
'trillion-dollar' economic stimulus package was carried out with remarkable speed. In
Běijīng more than a million peasants, housed in dormitories on construction sites, worked
