Should a city preserve its historic buildings?
The issue here is whether old, historic buildings in a city should be preserved or replaced by modern buildings. In my opinion, buildings of historical value should definitely be protected rather than destroyed. I base my point of view on following reasons.
Firstly, each historical building is precious property of human being. Like an antic, the value of an old building cannot be measured by money. We will lose those valuable historical buildings permanently if we don’t preserve them. Once a historical building is destroyed, we can never restore it; even if it is restored to its original look, the new building is only a fake replica; the historical value will never come back to us.
Secondly, a historic building always represents history and has educational functions. Each one of them can tell us a story. For example, some buildings are evidences of foreign invasion, others are signs of various religions existed in past decades. People nowadays can always obtain historic or cultural information through visiting these old buildings and sites. Although we can learn the past from books, pictures and by visiting museums, nothing can compare with the actual historical buildings themselves, which can bring vivid educational material to us. Thirdly, historical buildings are a symbol of a city and a valuable tourist resource; therefore a city cannot go without historical buildings. Beijing is represented by the
Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, which are all historical relics. It is hard to imagine that someday the City of
Beijing decides that all these buildings should be destroyed and modern buildings be built on their sites. Be cause those historical relics and buildings are too impor tant to the city and can generate profound tourist income. A city will benefit more by protecting its historic buildings than by replacing them with modern buildings.
For all reasons given above, I will strongly suggest a city municipal should preserve the old, historic buildings.
Every culture has its special features. Buildings, as symbol of architectural heritage, are an important part of the history of any country or city. Moreover, they could help us find the answers of many questions about the historical development of our society. Therefore, I truly believe that every city-administration should try to preserve the old, historic buildings.
All over the world many buildings are preserved in their authentic appearances. Furthermore, many of them have unique constructions and are really beautiful and impressive. In my opinion, the destruction of such remarkable pieces of architecture and their replacement with modern buildings can be called ˜barbarity™. Therefore, a lot of old buildings belonging to the historical heritage of the world are protected by UNESCO.
It is a fact that cities, which have their old, historic buildings, are favorite places for holiday and tourism. The reason is that these cities keep their special atmosphere and could offer us a magnificent journey through their cultural and architectural history.
The only reasonable argument to destroy some historic buildings and replace them with modern ones, is when there is a risk of self-destruction, which could endanger human lives. But again the safety standard can be achieved by renovation or restoration of old buildings.
In conclusion I would say that preserving old, historic buildings could be considered as a sign of our respect and regard to the previous generations. I am aware that it is an expensive initiative. But who can evaluate the worth the historic buildings have, for those who will come after us. And I would dare to ask “ who gives us the right to destroy what the centuries have kept for us? And I would answer `Nobody`!
