Hong Kong has done much to build it s reputation as a modern, cosmopolitan city, but it has not put as much effort into preserving or restoring its historic sites. Write an essay discussing the benefits and drawbacks of preserving Hong Kong’s past.
Have you ever been to the former KCR station in Tsim Sha Tsui? In fact, it is one of the examples of the beautiful old buildings in Hong Kong. Unfortunately, the severe shortage of land for development, the commercial interests of property developers and the lack of a clear government policy on heritage conservation have resulted in the loss of many of the city’s historic treasures. Some people therefore express their view of supporting the preservation of the past. However, what has drawn a standing ovation from some people has also drawn avalanches of criticisms from some other people. What makes people keep stressing the importance of preserving the city’s heritage? Why do some other people hold the opposite view if there is really a need for preservation?
Preserving Hong Kong’s past can promote a city’s historical and cultural value. The history and culture of a city actually have a profound relevance to its heritage. Heritage is an evidence displaying history, reflecting people’s behaviour and culture in the past. It records some of the significant historical events as well as people’s collective and meaningful memory. The Star Ferry Pier in Tsim Sha Tsui is an example. It is a place that people are familiar with and with a long history. When people have the same memory in the same place, a sense of belonging can be enhanced. Moreover, although the young generation did not live in the past, they can also know the history and culture in the past with the city’s heritage. Little difficulty is there in understanding why people keep stressing the importance of preserving the past.
A majority of people also held the belief that preserving Hong Kong’s past means preserving its tourist spots. Nowadays, maintaining a city’s competitiveness is very fundamental and preserving its tourist spots is definitely one of the ways. More importantly, Hong Kong is famous for its mixture of Chinese and western cultures, from the traditional old Chinese constructions to the colonial British-styled buildings, so these historical building can surely be the tourist spots to attract tourists. Besides, the old dai pai dong is a good illustration of being a tourist attraction since it is part of Hong Kong’s culinary culture. It is not uncommon that tourists go to dai pai dong to eat when they visit Hong Kong. So this shows the importance of the traditional landmark and people are convinced that preserving Hong Kong’s past can lead to the development of tourism industry.
Preserving the past does have its merits. However, many land developers are concerned about the problem of land allocation. Hong Kong is a tiny area. It has a growing population but with a limited place and even with a shortage of land. So, should the development of the residential or commercial buildings receive the prior right of land use? It is understandable that preserving a city’s heritage is crucial. However, for the situation in Hong Kong, the land is not sufficient for development, so how can the resources still be spent on the preservation of the heritage? Therefore, preserving Hong Kong’s past will hinder other development of the land.
Besides, there are also conflicts of commercial interests between the property developers and owners of the heritage. The main concern of property developers is profit maximization. They are convinced that the historical buildings can be developed into some profitable buildings such as housing or commercial buildings. So they oppose the plan of preserving the heritage on the grounds that heritage preservation is subordinated to commercial development. With no doubt, the conflicts between the property developers and owners become one of the hindrances to preserving the heritage.
Whether it is justified for the government to put efforts into preserving the heritage remains controversial since it brings about both benefits and drawbacks. Preserving the past can promote a city’s historical and cultural value and is also beneficial to the tourism industry. However, it will lead to the problem of land allocation and the conflicts between the interests of property developers and owners. The government should consider both sides of arguments carefully before it reaches a conclusion. After all, this issue has already led to mounting social concern and more importantly, the decision of whether the heritage is to be preserved or not will have a far-reaching impact on our future generation.