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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
- @8 a7 `' G2 V* w- d' Z3 }architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
3 M* h9 E( f# O, G6 H* ]Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
+ H& k6 U. G0 F! j% Ecity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.$ `! }. {6 R7 U* @% q/ q; X
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
& v' e" n" M! Q1 p2 {3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
( C( u; k" G% ~$ N' r6 EManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within. W5 f ]* ^) g4 A2 N
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among) G8 P$ g1 ~ t4 |3 C* {
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera; V9 i+ n6 |4 W9 v% c5 C# x P
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is( } z+ B7 {* H3 v( _& e
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are! U* \8 R; ~ f; H0 @
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
0 `, T& n/ ~' w* t( Bforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I$ Z1 G, ~% L0 W1 h# |
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
' `9 {9 J. l* O4 s+ |; Y) T. v4 |impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
7 ^* H. [" A' T7 U Zand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
" w& `: ~; w5 S3 l0 Uhas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment% ?+ T, N" @7 g8 y4 x1 M6 d
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
' A" V) X5 W' P$ f/ t, z3 fno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are; q4 {) f' T# F" a& F
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
7 U$ z' w; }5 X) o9 Zsort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government! C5 V3 O! g; h, b% k( k
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move2 O4 X" J7 k% l5 K' k
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
+ t& a4 v/ I6 W! U, i0 P5 ] A4 N"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,' ^- K1 c3 o" I, F0 R$ D
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are) y; p1 ~) }; t& L( Y& P% J
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 to( K6 U1 P3 w; W" x, d, `# P/ F* \) T
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make; P8 o; J8 C/ Y2 Q! Y
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
D$ f9 E' Y# Y( ]0 |4 Ha beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
4 J: G6 H& ]4 f3 O$ F4 v( sparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across. m+ _8 P" Q' {- {$ C, ~$ W. p
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
/ x; x1 ?5 j0 |, |1 V' C% jimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for9 J% G {# u& {+ b4 o' y9 c
development.
Hutongs- R1 W/ X/ g5 M
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
1 e8 \) l4 H; e2 kthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions: _) g l, Y }) f
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
, g' s' P# O n9 [2 uhave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you& P" h" ~7 U# u# b! p. q
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
" ?% r& L$ K% X9 H, a6 n0 T: G( @! aFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
, E( `, G$ t5 |8 x2 E9 o, Ito support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
/ W4 r3 ^4 m7 u' mto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
( ^! A. x; _ d9 ~" Jsupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically* R. s }. l* @/ }
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to/ h" J/ L; Y: T! m8 O% [! d- j' L
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
0 l( y1 y( a" {; Yhutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
7 S$ ]4 t: I/ C* Q1 m3 D [) S4 Ubalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
4 R1 G: V; C8 p ^project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
( L9 }* P' A ]0 p, Qrenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
/ S0 X2 K( O. N0 }& jMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how5 b% J% F$ S- H# C* c
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be/ ]- ^- ]6 p" b7 r& t$ I, g
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
6 P" r8 z2 g* `& Bmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".+ Y2 L3 y3 ~( N) P2 m& ], q
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are& E# q. e/ E, `- I# n
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
% z; z4 D) |1 C- v# ~. M ~non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image" c- l4 J, ]+ L, I2 ~
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
0 Z& ^4 j {0 e& [Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those) f) x# A" Q7 H/ v& g7 R8 I6 _- B
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they: X2 } V( ]8 H
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
& A$ `6 n# M: f( w Z# F3 tof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before6 m: l- c$ P6 |( k, ^
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
g- G1 f* d# B4 p4 Ypeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
8 n8 S* ~- o7 ?& _* T$ w- w# capartments are the way to go? No.9 L v& @. \# q. z" l
( o' c* Q$ o( R2 K
o# Q1 s2 R) B
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the2 p. v3 y8 i$ S# [4 r3 ]
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
. U0 G( O' q% k1 j- q'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make) q5 w8 m' w3 U. e. A. H; C4 M) h
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
: t, I2 k4 d- {% yfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant4 b3 M" F: Q( G7 F; k8 ?
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless5 L. n/ ]5 p s3 s7 E- [
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
% N* s. k# r( x$ h, v4 ounlikely to happen too. Sad!
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