As Beijing is trying to better protect its rich historical and cultural heritage, what will happen to the city's old town? Shan Jixiang, director of the Palace Museum, who is also a CPPCC member, introduced three proposals regarding this issue during the ongoing two sessions.

He proposes that all the valuable historical blocks within the 62.5 sq km of the historic town area must be listed as historical and cultural protection areas.

Shan submitted three proposals this year and all of them make the preservation of Beijing's old town the focal point.

In his opinion, the capital has long faced the challenge of protecting historical and cultural treasures and at the same time undertaking the task of building itself into a modern, multi-function metropolitan city.

Problems arose in recent years from the paradoxical strategies, architectural styles and street conditions that vary vastly in the city.Inappropriate commercial exploitation of some of the historical street blocks, such as Nanluoguxiang, has resulted in the loss of their original flavor.

"Specifically speaking, the number of historical lanes and hutongs in Beijing was well in excess of 6,000 in its heyday, but now the figure is below 1,500.Since there are only approximately 600 hutongs in the designated 30 patches of historical and cultural protection areas, how to protect the remaining 900 is yet unclear", Shan said.

The historic area of Beijing is the essence of Chinese traditional culture, so now we must "protect the legacy of the way we cherish our life", Shan said. He also stresses that the strategic direction of preserving Beijing’s rich cultural heritage must be adjusted and the unbalanced development mode of the city needs to be changed. Plus, priorities have to be set in clarifying the capital’s functions, and a comprehensive protection plan should be adopted.

The director of the Palace Museum also suggests that an expansion of the protection area is urgent. "On the premise of protecting the historical sites that are already listed, enlarging the preservation area, including areas that have the basic "Hutong-courtyard house" structure into the list is an opportunity that can't be missed for better heritage protection of the capital", he said.