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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
. X V* w# @- R1 U6 C/ Z( iarchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider U. n0 [+ @4 Y& j
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
: _# \& D5 \& S. C7 jcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
2 A% t' n; h$ w" d4 D% N5 vAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
/ K2 I% N# L# K5 C k3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of* b) _8 \5 ~" ^- h
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
5 ?+ E# k2 l2 D- O6 dhutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among; i \5 Y. x$ B3 J
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera: ^1 @. Q4 n, P/ @5 M; _" F
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
% F6 `* x- a/ f) X+ o' k9 Oharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
' _' P2 |" u: q# rdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
) s, ?/ @ q" D9 Jforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I/ ~' P8 c: s) T
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
" D% H* ]$ S$ \$ b: |' p" A- S1 Fimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
\( E' E1 o& H. \4 rand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong- K& c1 U! z5 b+ u# |3 Q7 f
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
2 t7 J1 X# r8 A; K6 iof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
9 @/ Z! p8 q- j0 {+ wno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
- X3 e6 w% o9 f+ w, g, L+ Zonly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a# A: A# W5 I2 c. b: s# c6 j; w
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
3 \/ E% v1 X% R% L' h7 u- k% J0 v1 J' Wwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move" b& ?* S4 l2 h; {" x/ d& ^3 f) J6 x
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
# @1 i% }/ H, D. v"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,, M: V/ o1 H+ n0 }/ | }
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
# Z& W9 `, ~% J/ ?: Y# B) Astill 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
+ C' b. r7 O- c. k"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make8 ?6 C! [+ X7 J! }6 C( |6 \
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
' n, u) D. m9 R Na beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a ?, k6 Q# J+ E0 ^1 b: V
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
# {: K; i, ~+ B- Y# b# b3 qthe 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% z; X) {# L' m" p; Z1 _
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for& I6 N. v. H4 y( d/ T& z. w9 _+ U
development.
Hutongs
+ f( k! T- Z7 p% Nin the old days were residential area where people actually lived
* z* }" g- i9 S* \, p) w n/ Kthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
2 k/ t8 k" e3 R Tin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
% q% ^) W$ t @, J5 xhave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
0 @) z$ i4 O. n5 W2 Iwill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.. {0 d) m) P2 p. ?
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
' O9 O5 V' n0 @& Lto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
1 k5 I4 a! v, ?& T# ]- q9 ?to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses; _3 l. O! t5 o9 E8 J
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
9 b; V2 h1 a( ~* g# }7 E, munfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
6 |* L/ N6 V: jlive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
( y4 Z" D( K8 f* o4 o% L& Uhutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the @& ]1 z; ^/ h
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the0 m7 x- N) r7 B
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be5 w/ u! @+ A C% O; P% }
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong! p' ?2 E# t5 j, J; q* o+ K$ B
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how# F9 m) I4 e0 K: G+ r+ {
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
2 i, q. T3 l: d+ y; d7 y2 n% o. ?torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished% n( T, B7 A2 x! X" D, T! }
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".: [% ?4 v1 Q# x# e
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are6 x7 k3 U% [& T/ _: e$ C1 ]- B
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
1 v, a0 V7 K) g; q; Anon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
( d* ~* _# G0 k- b# dof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these9 p4 N9 \( G1 s0 d7 q: o( H# h
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those5 m# ^; H7 z+ l0 F. c" q
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
* h( f& D* w! ?+ gmay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some# }! Z. A9 D" I
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before0 b6 x/ \3 @( q+ i4 I) R' v. ?; n
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all Q$ Z+ o8 p# o0 o n% a4 ~
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise' T! [! s) L& P# U# j& t
apartments are the way to go? No.( @; z1 z$ {& J. k3 I: S
8 Z1 I& o- r; y c( G
- l% X/ t8 K8 Z1 A, p7 e
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the: Z- T/ m' ?6 b
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
' f: c$ h, Q& u- t6 Z; f( U$ }4 l'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
# [1 d% r, Y9 Lno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so; {: k6 h# D8 u; v, b% L$ z; g: n
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant6 g0 K! o9 X2 _
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
7 l2 Q8 Y1 K( S6 D4 N* iBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
" B% |9 }- T. m8 L: P6 Y Vunlikely to happen too. Sad!
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