Any corporate?or individual buyer?is now allowed full
rights to siheyuans, the four-sided enclosed courtyard
homes usually seen as a cultural heritage and symbol of traditional
civilian culture in China's capital.
The move will help the local government with its efforts to
conserve and restore historic sites in quantity in the city,
experts say.
According to a document promulgated recently by the municipal
land and housing administration, enterprises, social undertakings,
governmental departments and individuals in and outside Beijing are
allowed to purchase, sell, lease and inherit any of the
siheyuans in the city's old downtown areas.
They may also donate or mortgage the siheyuans, the
document says.
The buyers will enjoy favorable taxes and charges on land-use
right transfer for the siheyuan trade.
Under the new rules, enterprises from abroad or foreigners are
also permitted to own a siheyuan with the same
preferential treatment as domestic buyers enjoy, unless specified
otherwise by laws and regulations.
In the trade, prices will be set under negotiations between
buyers and sellers.
With a long history, the siheyuan, as a residential
architecture genre, emerged in the early Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368)
in Beijing.
A small or medium-sized siheyuan usually has its main
or only entrance gate built at the southeastern corner of the
quadrangle with a screen wall just inside to prevent outsiders from
peeping in.
Such a residence offers space, comfort and quiet privacy. It is
also good for security as well as protection against dust and
storms. Grown with plants and flowers, the courtyard is also a sort
of garden.
(Xinhua News Agency May 6, 2004)