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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
3 K0 L1 Y7 ]# Q' yarchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
L* Y K' z7 W8 O" {5 wBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
7 q3 h5 E3 u B% lcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.6 J! Z9 i* U- O
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty, [/ U! z' ~" Z$ p
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of$ K5 {& R* q/ @& x/ z
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
9 |2 ?% z& i1 B- B/ Shutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among( {. \# \( B' y, N4 t& K5 {/ C
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera+ D ^- R5 E9 u+ L' d( [4 q0 j
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is7 j" D% C) G& Y4 o9 C
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
# W% U8 l% i' Q2 L/ Y% S7 _descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
0 ~. Q+ `1 }: l8 L, J6 z5 |* sforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
6 C- o1 p6 Z4 i: d4 ewas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
1 e, O& U f: Zimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,7 i; i7 n: G5 `+ |! C
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
# t# Y) U$ N+ ohas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
+ l0 Y% x: Q. J. d. }) X' Q @! Yof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
9 }9 _8 J5 ]0 H5 Ono hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
0 @' P0 K0 u9 Z ionly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
" `- ?5 O6 C( B3 R* qsort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
' o+ T0 w/ r/ P/ P5 \0 u& Fwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
4 a5 X) q- h9 x0 \$ ]to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is# ?* l7 E# A+ y, O# q) K
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
& U6 a. j% |7 Q3 Kthis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
/ p7 e9 {6 I' ]9 ]still 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 to6 P( [- @( T- e" `$ n
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make/ a. M6 e1 m$ S R7 F1 l
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
8 n- n) d* f0 [" Z& `a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
$ y9 k1 A! N8 H' Rparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across) Y7 k: _4 ?1 g* O; {
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
4 Q7 S t m0 z1 C; Wimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for! x( _) R5 I/ F# N2 L
development.
Hutongs6 z( J* G8 U: I8 w
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
/ l- z: G H4 U+ o Pthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
- n1 ?( w; ~: A& p) y4 q+ Xin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
0 b! G o+ {0 Q) ]have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
- _: V; O, p/ V$ @' X* |will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.! ~. k1 y+ X& D" v- O
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date. t# S. w0 _" Z' i8 `" x8 S
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
9 B. }% U/ s. w" Y9 r6 eto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
$ ]# u3 h; w! h l* z: A8 F" nsupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically9 Y2 B: O% M( T S" M9 u
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to" p1 r% J4 u |# [
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,: W/ u# g+ Z+ j$ C, K; s
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the6 _9 C1 |# g# ?4 l
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
' ~5 Z5 e1 q' V, ?1 Iproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
. I" x* z! x7 b" K$ arenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong+ d' Z2 A% h" M8 ]- P- e
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how F; P& x+ A) n8 h4 I0 t
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be, q+ a; C( A6 T' P' ^
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished$ I# t( P- A1 N& Q/ l
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".0 C+ b% \' f6 Z
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
7 W- D3 M5 g) c5 q# f) m3 naligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
9 {, X! [7 j# f W2 C$ Wnon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image9 ]/ ]- o: L7 O, Z; m
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these5 x& c' F1 R- @5 ^+ H. W# f, o) j0 H
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
% h/ `, h! q0 H' U7 apeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
$ Q/ f: j# s" ]1 s! H1 A" y/ Hmay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
' l8 `, u7 U T7 x _5 f: Gof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before$ `( }% n: p8 w% }
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all5 X* ~0 U# W* E6 K3 ^1 G; l2 E. Y
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
8 `3 l/ Q( I3 x4 }+ k+ U: Capartments are the way to go? No.
+ `, }5 h5 ~- x " F' M2 s; R3 k; S% W% h: ?* s
1 L1 E& X* Z* l; ?) ~
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
) y6 I7 x4 L% m# p) V* J: Z$ osituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
; R; k, n7 h3 u5 T'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make; Y# ?! @4 r2 X; D) ^) t
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so0 y' p' x+ }! c p% C% m
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
7 v2 S: g2 R$ l4 Y0 o/ ]resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
5 T( }5 x6 T( N: H7 v( k7 }5 _2 [6 nBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is% q7 K# R- t7 d; L4 d( e
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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