Topic 65 Should a city preserve or destroy its historic buildings? The issue here is whether old, historic buildings in a city should be preserved or

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.

Because those historical relics and buildings are too important 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.