| One of the principles followed by the United Nations preservation teams is to balance historical restoration with economic benefit. Retail is necessary to both serve the tourists who flock to historic sites and to bring prosperity to the people who live and work there. Many places have destroyed their own attractiveness by modernizing and tearing down the "old" things that make the location unique. Tongli has a few places that were modernized by overzealous designers, but for the most part they have managed to strike a balance. |
