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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
; O, c. N& Z/ u7 O8 w8 ]5 o8 ?architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider: c! g. ^/ B6 e/ l4 X7 e
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"3 ?% K! U% g, I9 n- z5 |! ]. B7 n* I
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
" S5 [! S- F% @According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
8 c' ^: e$ Z. T/ z, g: n, ^& h3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of) A1 d; S4 W# U' X- g& K
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
+ k( Y9 M4 p0 \; {4 D+ v: Vhutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among( |, [+ |: M/ m, N3 G! h
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera. D' c& f& Z5 C5 z! z
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
! a. ^6 E6 u$ y8 gharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
5 g9 s8 z' l& f5 b/ Q; q# vdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and# _, i( d9 Z2 f t3 J3 g; J) @; P# x
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
5 k6 o/ Y( r* |2 G9 l7 d3 qwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great% T$ @# L' D/ x/ T: R M$ c7 r
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,% @4 Q+ \. n0 l. m
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
* ^" R2 X4 o$ J/ p1 a) Chas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment" @0 {9 }2 V% ?( a! @
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that, {% C- H! B' H$ Y& R
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are5 T/ q1 {. X5 m- W
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a. d) I5 p" k9 x) p t1 z5 ^
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
% t3 ^+ A$ z: Twant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
Q6 l- S! S6 |2 hto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
% t' A7 X$ o' j* F. x3 g+ k"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact, }6 ]; w8 N* ~3 J- j9 _5 f; |
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are* T& X& j: A2 }3 L$ x4 C
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" t/ n- c+ j/ N; p8 b, C$ U- z
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make o6 T* a k7 q
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
% b i6 \0 f' T$ K6 l! W1 W/ Aa beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
! F/ \" z9 P2 [7 fparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
% q! s [! G4 ]0 w. m4 | N- Vthe 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, E! b% L" z; ~& z H; z
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
; J: K8 I& Q5 b0 ?development.
Hutongs) i3 y1 X2 u4 m5 v0 s+ X
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
2 l* g! W2 D; rthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions* `8 W0 P0 }& z1 G4 p% [" j
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
3 }' F) Z# C) K) k% s; d" d* xhave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
/ |' B4 u2 ]2 [0 M7 ywill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
/ V8 \# n& L. x/ RFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
8 J' v( ]/ }4 {+ W3 M9 R, S% lto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
" N* f/ `: I) p3 r0 u# x7 Fto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
& z/ G; M# Z9 X: @( o2 X; usupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically! P1 L- P- J1 o N7 j7 @( w
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
% h7 R' U9 P6 c8 slive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
# |+ ~( n% }$ Rhutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the) c4 [/ W% m1 P" ]" C" \
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
) C6 j- V0 `. Vproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be" C, Q: L+ s; K
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
$ b- H0 z4 K/ MMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
! |' i/ S: ^. N5 U: w7 ?5 Vpeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
: L& z! C# i0 Z, m) ]4 Mtorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
- U7 d% G; X* i4 A* Fmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
. j( x5 L' f* w8 C5 x7 TNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
" c. ?) ^3 n* K( Waligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially/ D9 u4 W: D X& a+ e* ~$ a
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image. ^' f( H: d) T- l4 V9 `# I9 ]
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these: I" q; L% R7 Q$ ]' Z/ q f+ q+ j
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those1 T) ]/ @8 N3 y( o s
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
, a6 y3 I0 q: {, G5 Wmay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some& j, q. N/ R# k& i& N
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
! }% ]( g; y4 i( F8 }8 R"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all9 U1 N8 `+ w5 p Z+ z9 {1 _
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
5 _" q% F1 X; Zapartments are the way to go? No.
6 ~ M6 [6 t4 i - o9 }, S! B6 g! B! Z( C
' g- O1 G/ }& I
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
; ?( k2 d# N& e6 b# \situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this9 x9 b6 G) R' G$ K0 p5 d
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make k; \' N( J6 x* ?) U) ^
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so1 T/ {8 n" F a( r6 w! H0 p$ H5 f' q
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant a% y# y8 ~4 X% Q, ?1 F( L
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless4 O2 B# b+ M+ ~* \! G
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is" P: R9 S$ [: m/ l3 K E
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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