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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
+ n, i! q! M9 Q! P; i1 k- V. W4 garchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider4 U; b! {$ s7 O! n; i1 A
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
9 ~. B- L. I! Q: X( z/ o* xcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
# ?, @6 E' T* M1 p' a8 l9 w" ZAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
R) A0 k, B2 X# y% i5 O+ j3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of: X; ?) d0 X; M7 V* G
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within5 J$ o5 D2 G: V/ B
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
% ^0 v6 `. ?: h5 H/ feach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera) I6 P) U: M% L; r0 u
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
% S* D( L: c3 R- O2 C* K: {, v4 Qharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are: l8 T/ C! d' Z# C& }4 [4 S
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
% |( W9 [" i5 C3 a& @forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
" S% M8 w( B$ |; }! n# K. nwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great, j' M% j6 e9 _" T
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
! n% {3 F+ S: i) R8 P/ P: kand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
- q3 M u6 R* f( @has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment# o4 I, k) E. f) M2 }- P
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that" F3 q* R; m7 f. A
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
5 ?3 k. G8 w; b1 i" B Fonly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a4 S; ~ Y( B" m* X% l
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
2 x; j0 E/ r/ k4 d+ e0 Wwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move. G7 X9 ~. h& F3 H& U
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
% r+ l. @4 H( }) P& ~) G* u"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,9 U9 m5 y. A- r; D8 @
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
5 k- W/ r6 P* q& c( k: p* Bstill 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
+ c8 s0 z H3 n6 {* ]: m"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
- Q2 q% {# s. }5 b* k9 Amoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was6 {" t0 R6 a, B8 q* W ^5 x
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a+ C O4 Y y3 L8 v' W0 T
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across; t6 l- p. {4 r+ e3 K
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
! v! m+ `) z. d5 ]importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
8 W2 |0 T' h' Adevelopment.
Hutongs* ?7 j3 h( H* X, ?! k
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived0 K# {- q/ m; P: ]. C3 q9 D
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
# L& y2 ~. U4 k" `% Fin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not" B5 a; @4 }* u2 ]# e$ Y
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
. N' G1 Z# U7 | r3 U5 Iwill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
! S; B% z: g6 h2 [Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date0 z) v6 L2 g" D9 N r
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used5 Z/ [7 ^+ Q( q, O
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
+ R' R5 v2 @% {$ Asupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically7 c& j) L% L) u+ \9 v
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
4 L6 B1 |* a( r2 B. Klive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
& K$ z; B6 M" [9 K% P2 phutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
. C% t' n- S6 v, }balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the8 i& R- Z2 x2 F& K! s
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
2 X8 E5 v) {1 Y {1 frenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong& e. U# l6 z9 y! \
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how0 z1 B. {, n# w! i
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
4 O4 O- y7 K' u0 Ktorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished I8 R# ~% P9 ?/ S3 ?
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
3 I, `- d- }7 S3 ZNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
: ^$ {: G, F( ?1 ~aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially; Z# B$ n n) A) `
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
3 l; Z0 p* W9 y F, V1 gof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these7 f1 E+ E4 F( I) B- G
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
E/ ^- |* A1 Z$ vpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they3 L, g! `9 a0 V, }
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
8 O# m( E) @* W7 B8 nof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
D6 }1 x8 K& }3 R1 i! w! X4 v3 p! W"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all" l. H; T% l' `
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise7 {. w# z6 l w! q3 A
apartments are the way to go? No.
2 A1 w% i3 `. n. C9 I' U # Q y8 f& a, D( @ Z ^$ P
( T2 T, z! {% c
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the' M, f) O( |' n+ o. S" c
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
- |" [( l0 b) S) t" o/ g'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
: G3 L7 _! o: J6 Pno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so* m3 V" N* z2 m- S3 y! b, L
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
6 C" k# e( K' q% }. w5 a- Yresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless7 d$ [( I2 r' n
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is7 @6 g2 I: ?% w8 n' ]
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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