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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, its6 k% M' s# O: d" X5 [% [
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider9 k9 v0 Q4 ^* p
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
. _1 j4 R5 c% k. f! Ycity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.5 m/ H6 j' q, v" a
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
0 z" u q# E$ n9 C5 Z/ B' O3 T3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of8 P% r9 ^0 s& B E( y% Q
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
8 l7 @0 f0 \) z! d0 Z7 qhutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
8 z( p" u% k$ Q4 h V" O% Neach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
+ k2 m# L& d/ E. V7 ]1 rand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
- x2 x0 D& O9 A: _$ @harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
! M0 i: P; v# O. Tdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
, }3 w' k/ t$ s: k8 x4 ^; J7 Wforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
6 y; T6 S# K3 r! U* h! L' {$ Pwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great5 K/ c, g6 q% u7 T4 ^! O2 h; i, u; k
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,$ _) b$ ]6 J& ~
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong7 j, h6 P( X# d3 Z: O
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment$ H9 w5 \1 e( g5 C/ `* }8 N
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that3 m+ G6 B& E3 ~
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
( t$ `1 @/ }8 g2 eonly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a/ V& H- b/ [0 l
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
4 ^ ^. Z0 ^3 N* O" V# T& _* swant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
4 ?2 v8 L j' Q* o# o* q2 zto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
4 W0 r" {4 R5 ^"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
- U% r' b- q+ @* J. w9 {! J( bthis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are% w" e+ f" o8 f" f" K
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( G, s0 ]* v" d: @' t
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
& _2 e4 p' V4 U1 A/ Imoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
# w: H3 b! a! T7 g8 Va beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a3 p1 U+ I6 k" S8 T. r2 {
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
- W4 N7 u! m; _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 cultural0 m8 J2 u! t0 R4 ~; A3 v: S+ e
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for! x0 }0 `/ i6 g& H; [& \9 d
development.
Hutongs
* U1 ]9 p+ {1 M0 b. W7 o8 z6 b! ^in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
5 `; v! e* Q. B4 @& ^there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
5 J3 p4 t& }4 x2 S) R( @in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
Z, t$ y" x# b/ w5 \8 E- p& xhave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
1 Q V3 l& m8 f+ ~- J9 C% @will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
- r. _" J. i. _ h; rFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
+ A3 O, g/ C; u; Yto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
: V, H: f# @- C" h1 q" E/ x3 Sto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses9 J9 q2 z _* t. I! G+ m& r- }
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically" I' G/ n( l1 A: ]9 O
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to; Y& p2 R/ c" v8 }2 n4 a7 Z# B
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,2 K* `$ J9 T" z' `, Y7 X
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
* j" [4 D. F5 m* [balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the. r0 w! E& O2 `2 L& {. s) p+ a
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
. k1 K) c1 W3 @- Xrenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
0 j( y: c H+ w: ~" o/ X+ [+ b9 U. wMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
+ h" g! e! _* Dpeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
# [) O$ u2 u3 _, S* F* v/ Atorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
6 F9 u8 E8 Y5 i/ ?( @memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".5 T3 U4 M8 w. x- n+ m$ Y
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
$ {% M/ G/ B, q$ {, Yaligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
+ ~8 y/ Q8 r2 h: O% `1 hnon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image9 X( e" @# ?: Z$ u5 v/ C
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
$ m( K- ]: U. R/ ~. }Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
C6 I3 `3 X' ~0 X, ~people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they! l& `1 J# I0 [& `5 e
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
5 }) Q* `. k3 L7 qof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before; u8 o( j0 X' Y7 r1 c; ]: I( J5 e) G
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
0 Y; Q0 \0 @8 T1 xpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise5 p1 o. H8 F( _" ?( \; A( m
apartments are the way to go? No.# s4 c5 |8 o+ V4 f f/ t6 Q
3 h# c% _. X( v. o
/ ~# U0 W: k- o6 w4 ]! d) o" ^* d, s
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the. J9 S1 w# p) x- O
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
S. P5 C) {4 x6 f: S, F$ @3 `'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
/ O7 V6 u* |# f7 D+ M& W! ?no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so+ n2 t% c2 h* ~8 J# `- ~. t) m
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
$ M" C8 A! y! s4 uresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless/ m4 z& m7 b( k& O: C9 u9 J
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is/ e5 ]% `- J- V* Z4 I
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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