|繁體中文 切换到宽版

服务器里的北京 - 老北京网

 找回密码
 注册老北京网

QQ登录

只需一步,快速开始

查看: 5992|回复: 1

A Hutong Discussion

[复制链接] 放大 缩小 原始字体
发表于 2007-4-24 05:08:00 | 显示全部楼层 |阅读模式
The following is a hutong discussion promoted by me on a Chinese history oriented forum:

Me:

As Beijing has been the capital of China for more than 800 years, its + N! @ I. ~6 _% ]1 D/ p7 qarchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider ; Z( ?" V/ x" R# {; j8 ^" dBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"3 S' G) x/ U" @' ?6 v0 n* \ city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.' N, F1 z" Z9 `0 f- Z& b According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,' K& j2 i) D. u0 R 3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of- b |0 t+ E; F# E0 A6 ?7 z Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.

Within1 o- C! i& y. X- _' L9 s4 ^, e, n hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among $ a: H8 B/ Z( F3 feach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera0 G4 h' r: [2 C0 m and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is 5 `% N( s, L+ }1 m& h1 \* Wharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are7 ]/ Y4 s2 J: M6 g- H5 ] descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and4 W4 N: c) h H5 w7 ^7 }0 L/ d forms of culture emerged in hutong.

I * r, P: [$ V. K; J# j7 `was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great: j3 G# i6 ^# O+ m2 y! `" I2 _' k impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished, * ]1 l3 k4 Y- q8 \and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong ) Z& R9 _; p m* s0 ?# C X3 Phas a history of more than 400 years!

Since 1999, the demolishment 6 W w' G. o1 W! `6 Fof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that 4 i3 X* s0 V( G0 n- gno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are/ [) Y% Z( |7 g- L only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a# O$ s+ p% z! v0 J" @0 L. M sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government3 b6 K5 J, `* @# H6 L- P% ? want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move5 q' q7 f0 b/ I G2 g0 ~4 Y to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is # ~! ?- `0 x! a"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,+ x& T% m1 \& y- O, B) x this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are . l# |( q, ?1 u$ J. V+ fstill living in compact apartment cells, Olympic Games will still be held in Beijing if four-combinations still stand.

Kimchee:

I think it's ashame how historical sights are destroyed due to; R n6 T5 t* @, ^ "progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make! u4 k2 x2 F9 n [ money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was 9 ~2 N% @( ~. C+ a8 G# ?a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a# f a9 `; u q5 D3 x& S% \/ o5 W parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across% M4 F4 l8 ? d2 J the street is still there, but I thought it was a crime to do this.

Ashura:

While I do agree and support the perservation of properties of cultural ( {; T& \4 z5 W4 w8 {% |6 gimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for % r3 @2 U9 s+ i5 ]. u- b8 |development.

Hutongs" a7 t& w2 E6 I h8 b6 v in the old days were residential area where people actually lived$ I4 k- m' ^" `5 l& |4 y6 j9 L there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions* v( ^% V3 S7 v( o+ e; R" c8 _1 H in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not4 Z; [5 W% D0 c& l8 R) S& S: C have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you, n3 ]8 r0 x2 Z0 H1 S) S will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.0 } {; w6 X+ }0 w; o+ I# ~6 g; U Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date4 f" A s% E# _ |2 s# d* w; [ to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used- S" h/ L& F( D7 a+ I6 ~. O9 _ to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses) t4 g, r# U; z3 v4 H support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically ; c; Y* Y0 P; J1 vunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to " V/ }( `" G* t }8 olive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,1 } Y3 k) ?, g, b hutong is only a tourist attraction.

The best way to find the) [; b3 J9 [- W$ C6 X7 i balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the % p$ Z) J. M. o- A# M' W$ p. zproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be $ h) E E0 {) ^3 y' s% A! x& ?8 {/ mrenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong & @0 y/ R7 `9 W$ I; Z- T* qMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how4 v' C' X* A+ _- m1 W people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be , G* M7 k6 e- B/ x( `torn down or transformed into something else.

TwinkieDP:

I'm sorry that your cherished 5 I: g, w# @( Kmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress". * G* X( o# ~( r- V8 M1 hNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are; [+ f) `9 w9 O) Q/ @# J aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially1 P2 r, ^/ T4 j non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image" |9 y" r: ^; k3 _& S of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these, h: x0 c9 l+ _3 N( P# f( R Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those2 ^1 m7 i8 {0 n* \# V8 D people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they ( b3 j" c7 H: f: S8 f, ^may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some. ~" o5 H6 r0 o' L3 j5 |$ m of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before. z8 W+ A! p' P7 z% d' l# m1 c "modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all! K) f' C- j% {! y& I( L$ S people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise + s0 X& q4 d: _2 J1 _apartments are the way to go? No.- P ]" D, g5 \- S2 @ " H* e4 [/ G6 ]2 t! b3 P @ 3 b7 q" w( K4 F4 c

Howard Fu:

I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs.
But the % e/ ?0 v, N' n+ l/ vsituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this 4 j) S+ D& V' x8 B* C'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make 3 q* Y$ A2 s, g' O2 K( Cno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so4 c; V. P5 x& g1 t& Z$ }& I fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant' L+ `! \ R* J5 s C, J. O. \ resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless+ m! H# b7 t3 `' p1 T% y Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is% q" }0 C7 f" \" S: t' \" N unlikely to happen too. Sad!
回复

举报

发表于 2007-5-22 20:37:00 | 显示全部楼层
Excuse me. May I use ur discussion in my dissertation about Beijing Conservation?
Thx a lot!!
您需要登录后才可以回帖 登录 | 注册老北京网

本版积分规则

上个主题 下个主题 快速回复 返回列表 官方QQ群

2000.11.1,老北京网自创办之日起,已经运行了 | 老北京网

GMT+8, 2025-7-6 04:11 , Processed in 1.136590 second(s), 5 queries , MemCache On.

道义 良知 责任 担当

CopyRight © 2000-2022 oldbeijing Inc. All Rights Reserved.

返回顶部