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A Hutong Discussion

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发表于 2007-4-24 05:08:00 | 显示全部楼层 |阅读模式
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 " u6 f, }# _# j8 sarchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider . I. E5 _( L+ q: `Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"9 z" z) c$ s3 t: M" t0 C5 w city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.7 A m4 k9 P$ b; M& c- c According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty, 7 o" G2 g* `* f- }0 n3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of( g$ Y. b1 u1 q' E Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.

Within- L3 c( s! p% l$ v' K- K8 s hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among 5 l( m3 M" d, \! c3 xeach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera ) K7 }: I! L8 M1 A; ?; I$ jand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is . Y' M; R* d6 N" D- v! _harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are / d* k# L/ c( ~6 S4 g1 gdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and% q1 t ]+ a" w* @ forms of culture emerged in hutong.

I% q- z$ |% H- y1 S* a: } was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great% Y& o/ o* I7 z5 J- \ impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished, & x" O. B& p' O+ b- Y2 o0 f {and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong - P j6 H# h+ V+ ?% U. @- |has a history of more than 400 years!

Since 1999, the demolishment * P6 G+ y$ P0 a, d, C+ Rof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that 5 K. |' ~4 \* Y; L4 r2 e5 `no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are# P8 O& o. R& P- _8 { only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a/ E; R5 O' W( ^0 e0 D6 B sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government : z3 @7 b% g1 Y s& Owant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move) k4 K' H. q& U3 g q to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is 7 ~5 X/ P, ?' X: k: H"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,2 S2 k% i7 c4 B8 k this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are 2 y v, f4 u4 m$ Y$ F! ~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 & Q i0 w! W, b"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make; A/ f# H+ }1 f( q money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was; ?5 q/ F* w# l+ `/ D a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a/ [; C! V+ u% k, ?1 d4 R, [ parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across) x8 S H7 J: U- r/ o) s 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 " g# i. c+ i3 N, `importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for ^. @+ R: z! E& V. hdevelopment.

Hutongs# \9 p* Q, u1 q% b6 {; ^ in the old days were residential area where people actually lived ^ q7 x1 T' Ithere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions$ s1 l* ?3 Z3 [, k( Z5 o: O0 [ in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not 7 X) ?3 Y/ I' v9 E* @ p [have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you 5 _7 B% ~8 u7 b& T1 [. v: bwill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs. ' C+ V8 b/ r) x7 X# J7 t fFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date ( w$ m9 D, W w! I# e0 ?to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used4 e8 t; `5 l. C6 i) l! I2 U! p to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses N! _1 u% Y$ g9 L( n6 n! _ support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically . k) i1 d* q5 C# q8 Q5 C" M3 Zunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to; c* B6 w& j& f- k' I- F: |" d( q+ w live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose, # i. l" A7 ~+ b$ v8 B* g3 ]5 @( uhutong is only a tourist attraction.

The best way to find the# E+ G7 _+ P6 m! j+ H* A7 ] T balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the : {! \$ o+ q/ x2 P" d/ D. Rproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be & |/ w9 e% x3 {% Q. j* ]renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong 1 y" W0 c* k: F: @ PMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how y4 f x5 e4 v8 [people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be 7 g3 Q2 Q* b# Ytorn down or transformed into something else.

TwinkieDP:

I'm sorry that your cherished9 X" ]. p* O" z" V memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".# e7 n4 c% F3 i( u! s Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are! C/ |6 a! M' x- u' T3 k+ R8 Y) X, U aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially$ T% u+ R3 T5 G2 s+ l( e9 x/ x non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image$ u) T( D0 V' L ]3 u. ^- S of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these + w: }1 p& n7 V- w( r2 o0 |Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those$ J4 B# K4 [' R& T, D people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they M" q& \4 j! h+ ^may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some ' V1 H8 v8 R a* A7 M! _of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before % m( T+ s% [2 ]$ c% ]- b# I! f! y"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all % I6 t* e8 z6 `3 h5 c& ~, N7 \ Y, Qpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise ' ^3 I4 E. s4 ?9 Vapartments are the way to go? No.& N0 c) w! q8 k- E: n& g8 @( ` 0 |$ g$ w+ @; a) u5 `' y + g3 @5 Z0 j, b/ X0 M" h. V5 o

Howard Fu:

I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs.
But the , z, I( D# Y5 u9 ysituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this4 r) W5 o9 Q! U& d% Z2 r 'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make7 l5 U! Q8 I% L& T5 h no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so $ @9 G3 A1 Z# p: E: mfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant f5 f7 {* ?$ B9 qresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless: y4 L" ~; b* x4 u; a. ] Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is& y/ F/ c7 k4 q! g V4 p8 l) M1 ~ unlikely to happen too. Sad!
发表于 2007-5-22 20:37:00 | 显示全部楼层
Excuse me. May I use ur discussion in my dissertation about Beijing Conservation?
Thx a lot!!
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