From the transformation of the old city to the protection of relics, the protection of the old city is guided by advanced concepts. The transformation of the old city in urban development has seriously damaged the historical and cultural city. The reconstruction of the old city needs to be demolished, and the old city is often the key area for the protection of famous cultural cities. In order to protect the ancient city of Datong, the Datong municipal government issued a notice, ordering all the old city reconstruction projects within the protection scope of the ancient city to stop work, and at the same time starting the ancient city protection project in an all-round way, striving to preserve the original appearance of the cultural heritage to the maximum extent. Protect the precious sites such as Huayan Temple, Shanhua Temple, Mosque, Huokeji, Confucian Temple, Guandi Temple, Chunyang Palace, Dijun Temple, City Wall, etc. which are submerged in the ruins as a whole, and demolish all the destructive buildings within the protection scope of these sites.
From individual protection to overall protection, we will strive to safeguard the cultural value of historical and cultural cities. A famous historical and cultural city is an organic whole. If only a single cultural heritage is protected, every cultural heritage will become a "cultural island" and the cultural value of a famous historical and cultural city will be weakened. Datong is committed to the overall protection of the famous cultural city, and all the areas of about 4.8 square kilometers from the playground city street in the north, Beidu Street in the south, Yuhe West Road in the east and Dewey Avenue in the west are designated as protected areas, and all the multi-storey buildings in this area that have caused serious damage to the style of the ancient city are included in the scope of demolition. At the same time, all the historical and cultural heritages in this area will be designated as protection objects, and the basic pattern of the ancient city will be restored as much as possible.
From two opposites to the best of both worlds, properly handle the contradiction between ancient city protection and urban development. It should be said that there is a certain contradiction between the protection of historical and cultural cities and urban development. From practical experience, it is difficult to put protection and development in the same urban space. In order to solve this problem, Datong city put forward "one axis and two cities, developing separately" in early 2008; Make the past serve the present, taking into account the old and the new; "Inheriting the context and creating characteristics" is the basic idea of ancient city protection, which is based on the protection of ancient cities, jumping out of the ancient cities and seeking development, and separating protection from development. Specifically, with the Yu He River as the axis, the well-preserved ancient city in the west, the modern new district in the east, and the protection of traditional culture in the ancient city will make the two different spaces complement each other. Facts have proved that this method has overcome the contradiction between ancient city protection and urban development and realized the idea at that time.
From random repair to old repair, consciously continue the life of the ancient city according to traditional methods. In the large-scale protection and restoration of the ancient city, Datong has always followed the basic principle of repairing the old as the old and adhered to the four basic methods. The first is full textual research. On the basis of a large number of archaeological excavations, data collection, investigation and study, and expert argumentation, choose a reasonable protection method. The second is to keep the original appearance. Cultural heritage belongs to which dynasty, it should be repaired, rebuilt and rebuilt according to the way it was built, rather than repaired at will according to modern people's understanding. The third is the preservation of "Siyuan". In the process of repair, reconstruction and reconstruction, the original architectural shape, original architectural structure, original building materials and original technology are retained. The fourth is to repair the old as before. Based on the unique value and aesthetic requirements of traditional architecture in China, we insist on repairing the old as the old and being original.
From getting rid of the burden to industrial innovation, we can deeply understand the value of ancient city protection. In the protection of historical and cultural cities, some people have a misunderstanding, that is, they think that the low, worn-out and dysfunctional relics are the burden of the progress and development of urban civilization, and the protection cost is expensive, which is not worth the loss. Under the influence of this understanding, some cities regard cultural heritage as a burden. This is actually treating pearls as garbage. Datong realized in practice that cultural heritage not only has historical value, aesthetic value, educational value and scientific value, but also has great commercial value. An ancient city with complete historical features is not only yesterday's glory, but also today's wealth; In the protection of famous cities and ancient capitals, only by organically combining protection with development, developing in protection and protecting in development can the sustainable utilization of cultural resources be realized.