Restoration inside the Forbidden City

[thaite]

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/02/world/asia/02china.html

[deerhoot]

good article! thanks man.

[AngryABCGirl]

I went by the Forbidden City a year ago when I was in Beijing, the renovations actually look really tacky and artificial and they're effecitvely covering up a lot of history so to speak.

[didu]

what's so tacky and artificial about it? have you seen what the forbidden city was like before the renovations?

[AngryABCGirl]

what's so tacky and artificial about it? have you seen what the forbidden city was like before the renovations?

Yeah, way before, it has this well-aged character and greatness to it. The way they're doing it now, it's like they're making small world disneyland type stuff.

It's one thing to make renovations and clean it up, it's whole other thing to completely paint everything over with flamboyantly colored paint. I asked why, and it was because they want to restore it to the way it look in the past in its former grandness, but it just really looks tacky right now, all the history is being covered up in favor of extremely bright paint.

[didu]

^^ I think if they paint everything with the original colours, that should be fine, maybe after a few years, the paint will lose its flambyance and the palaces would like ancient again.

[Martino]

Yeah, way before, it has this well-aged character and greatness to it. The way they're doing it now, it's like they're making small world disneyland type stuff.

It's one thing to make renovations and clean it up, it's whole other thing to completely paint everything over with flamboyantly colored paint. I asked why, and it was because they want to restore it to the way it look in the past in its former grandness, but it just really looks tacky right now, all the history is being covered up in favor of extremely bright paint.

Well, if they really are restoring it, that means it originally looked flamboyant. Modern aesthetics aren't the point. And if you actually lived and worked there back in those times, you might actually prefer it to look colourful and gay.

Now, if someone would just restore the Egyptian pyramids, which were previously covered in precious metals ...

[VV o n g B a]

doh. didn't get to the read article b/c it's locked now. anyways when i saw it in 2003, the renovated bricks were already starting to crumble. thats just a few years compared to hundreds of years for the original bricks.

i don't think this held true for the forbidden city, but in other areas the bricks had the manufacturers' names on them so that they knew who to punish should the brick turn out to be inferior. thats what they should do for these new shitty bricks.

[yoMAMA]

Now, if someone would just restore the Egyptian pyramids, which were previously covered in precious metals ...

I'd rather see sphinx get her nose back.

:biggrin:


i don't think this held true for the forbidden city, but in other areas the bricks had the manufacturers' names on them so that they knew who to punish should the brick turn out to be inferior. thats what they should do for these new shitty bricks.

LOL, bring out the firing squads if the paint jobs are not up to par!

[colorred]

Intereting. I want to go there soon. :biggrin: