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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
3 a+ E( |1 K+ p# X; P5 parchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
, ]: j" l/ L2 F$ A! ?+ JBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"; H" l* ] O' B, q
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.- f) P% {# I2 v, J$ D
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
% R0 d' k7 T" `% P7 [( E7 Z3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of2 p. B; q! `1 h0 }, D
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
2 Q4 x9 [1 c) O5 ?1 _! }0 M9 Chutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among! c& w3 i% S P! Q5 r5 ?; Q
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera3 ?$ T( K9 a- K/ x
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is `9 ?7 d, [7 h6 G! W8 @( z v7 {
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
" a9 g2 H" t. U8 U% rdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
: v2 g, `6 {5 ~7 |* Z9 Xforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I3 A' C: T7 n( y6 w R M' G" z7 {
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
$ s8 O6 S4 ~" uimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
* r4 g& K! d P, W4 sand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
6 D [/ ]1 j& E. s" l# ^- \& X3 _has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment9 t; K* x9 Q4 C( Z
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
+ _* N3 ~* \2 H \, d* c& pno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are) v+ s! K4 q6 M0 ~. X' m. O# n
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
8 |0 q* n; [* a2 W" A. e8 y% n. psort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government& c- K( l! q, _) L) Q6 R0 ]
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
% Q8 n4 ]! [0 x3 Pto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is& X* ], D' {8 h
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
6 v# g8 T' g1 o ^: ]this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are5 E9 l3 q0 a$ p* }8 a2 b. v
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
* a; B$ y. {' G2 u3 O"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make- k4 Y8 _2 j" J5 M7 M d
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
$ ?% s% L8 J4 Q( V9 Aa beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
5 |5 a9 F1 x* R7 E9 Lparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across& Z5 z& P# l0 t; x1 ~. |
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 cultural4 q5 g/ |) x3 K r& Z5 I
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for) O& p: ^4 Z6 D. z
development.
Hutongs/ }( e+ }. R1 E: {+ l: n5 F
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived2 W5 ]- k- P+ {
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
/ y m1 C& U8 a. \; \6 X. `% fin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
) q$ r5 \1 F- s# @6 Zhave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
x0 i% U: c5 k& dwill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.8 [& y+ h/ I2 d- S {% |% {1 `
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date, e$ C- r) x/ g7 K% z- ?, h9 S
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
2 C8 R+ t! T9 [. N! p9 Bto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses* I; l/ U, e) Q, G
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically6 h* I, N6 ?6 e7 x5 x
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to, H% l" n" C2 E+ R' s2 H
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,6 s) ^( v9 K! t- p- d
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the0 C, g0 y4 i% J5 O H7 d7 q
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the3 z1 z$ ]7 ?8 r5 U @) z0 s9 D
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
# m) T3 M7 G( p9 brenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong5 k1 @( F4 G `& B
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how) i3 w3 P: I8 P' n6 F
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
7 r: U* i! {0 s9 o2 b4 l( Ytorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
" |( ~+ H! O2 e8 `* K5 Wmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".; I1 V, s. \ I; X& }, b
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are' C0 V# B. `, T2 E5 P+ X
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
9 o$ y, ], N+ m8 ]3 Enon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
( L I) y! k f+ w- g( |of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
4 F, P& Z+ U9 T9 gHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
* C$ `% j5 [+ G" R4 \, b9 Ipeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
- ]0 j2 @- Y2 r& c+ Cmay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some9 b' S! ^* D8 a
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before$ p' |8 A* H5 b4 J" I
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all. V. S( {7 S9 R4 {# d9 h- M' C# B
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
- f5 f, r* q" M Napartments are the way to go? No.
* j. w7 y2 [! ?4 f7 s+ f% J% G$ W
3 y+ a% s( D( o N 4 P2 b% k# V1 Z/ g% x) I
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the& n) [7 L0 k5 l- s+ y; Z7 N
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this# G$ ]9 U: g- p: d
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make* \. J7 w4 e8 L% @( N
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so: K$ h: W( X. b, E: u
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant) w0 R7 X: O4 y" k/ v3 v1 j
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless0 h2 p* K) D5 g8 U
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is' a4 {9 O6 j3 W* h$ k
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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