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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
5 k) U( Z! ^7 L$ B9 u- T; F, {/ karchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
% u" @& f: p+ B/ R& B( W7 YBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
, M2 V% K, m) F, K9 gcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.6 a, z- b d! Z' ^+ A4 v4 v
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
: c$ l' U2 }) C/ |3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
8 z5 t' ?5 {+ J$ [) b2 h+ O: ~0 R) LManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within5 S" ^+ \0 u& k* K
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among" |: v0 H, |: w ]' x M. b
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
+ s: p& m$ j$ w! kand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is& T. F4 j+ D% w' r1 t0 P% ~5 U5 E
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are. ]2 h1 @! B- {
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
6 f g: z% D+ F2 w5 x9 Sforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
( @4 F8 I$ O8 h! o+ \! o5 _( Ywas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great ^5 j; u2 x+ Z% S
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
5 m+ N5 k/ u7 E0 ?! x! P* wand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong3 n ]- ]. u% ~; O# V3 M
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
; a- j9 P7 s; w4 v+ Vof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
* L9 L. r/ @ f; Q2 z( ?2 ^* ^no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are' K; @; Q& I$ ?: d1 [! }
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
0 o2 z. S: P( ~. K* J9 asort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government' X* a$ y: P5 l5 p, Z# {, K8 O( B# R
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
( Z9 }) T4 ]. p5 h9 ^ Qto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is: s$ b- [3 V0 `1 B
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,: q; M" S4 q/ H0 y# w( T
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are% d* q* ~% \& D, u
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
6 W6 q/ e3 `# H5 c' ~; c! D"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make2 `6 q6 t) i) o% A8 G# T
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
2 \$ n% Z% l! O. e; s* `8 sa beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a' {) i1 t2 ]& _+ b
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
. @+ {' W$ B9 i5 [1 p4 Gthe 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
1 @% m) K& i5 Y4 wimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for0 m& k" V+ G1 d9 M5 H
development.
Hutongs
, S/ A0 b. Z4 m& sin the old days were residential area where people actually lived
0 \2 m2 _& ]1 \ w1 Ithere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
3 h* N+ z; f Rin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
! q/ g+ c9 A9 N' ]' @7 J. vhave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you( l$ m6 G* T, J+ }/ x
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs. k+ ^# t" W- q- n. L% Q0 o5 }+ ^
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
: G2 V3 s6 @/ ~$ Uto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used9 s& v- T/ x: N" P \8 W& L
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses# s4 b6 |4 {- Y; I# W# f$ h
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
8 v" j- X* d) `" \6 A+ j* k6 [unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
; Q* U4 g8 r: A; o6 \0 Ulive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,. B' ` t2 a) m0 I4 S
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the3 R! T: ~7 o3 t
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the6 e# Q$ v1 J: A; ]- B
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
' \7 x, p4 V8 |6 R2 g9 irenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
% X* s* z5 e$ {& eMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how( l- n+ O! A: a
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
0 o+ z' |2 Y5 h# h2 {$ Ctorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished/ c0 G8 G; }7 ?9 ~/ L7 |
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".0 O$ w0 O" k+ h
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are& h% B7 Q B3 s
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
7 f) k" \ P6 b: R6 ~non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
- V8 _/ C# G8 T2 dof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these* M6 H }0 g! m
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
* ]( X+ U) Q1 e: Lpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they8 u" x4 `/ W5 G% s
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
& m0 P$ U/ @! ?. k7 q4 pof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before/ `: z- l6 p# Q/ l; f
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
7 h$ v6 w# p8 M+ hpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
2 o8 L$ L; i) X2 a9 q' \apartments are the way to go? No.
4 o, P8 b* ]& l% E
# }. Q1 \/ X+ [% C; L6 o
. j* Y) y, C5 J2 P
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
+ F6 T; s0 D% `situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
" O7 f0 q. K% J$ h'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
# O# L4 \8 w" q0 W( X: s7 B8 _ h4 uno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
! d% V6 J* t) v; Y' @" {* h" J* ]fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
; I: |, }5 g* P# sresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless( B; I' j4 D: |- T- O
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
3 a- I' B( E3 o: g, Y$ runlikely to happen too. Sad!
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