Shan Jixiang, director of the Palace Museum.[Photo/Xinhua]

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.