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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, its2 o I1 M8 N" V6 H2 N( x( u
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider: Q b7 l, _3 l+ ]# [* H9 a
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"2 P; l. W3 ~( r5 R7 |
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
- R: x* U8 }6 b4 IAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
' j2 F2 W1 ?1 \/ S3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
* m1 }- Q: N5 q% \, Q& SManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within6 k" D& C. [ x5 g
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among G. e) W/ _6 k8 w4 d5 s
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera: e/ F8 b6 j' J( U5 N. v3 _" U
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
9 v& c8 D! O( N9 e& ~6 qharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are, e$ b2 z5 k! ?* q& [; G. e7 o, @; C
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and9 d b9 k0 |, y
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I' K# {1 D: X+ z! O: k3 `7 v6 a, \
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great/ g1 O& K5 P+ V$ o% T5 ?2 y6 \
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,: l k: k+ J% `
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
" ~; A+ Z% _' [/ E2 Zhas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment8 U9 u8 [6 U. f; ]" l
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that8 A! |) a) |' y" y) x
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
+ q5 w% _3 }8 V# R6 H `only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
/ i$ K% d/ r" H- _sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government9 f5 m4 \* ^0 F4 U, s. u
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move4 n+ H& @7 P# }+ @, l" J# z
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
7 H8 P+ @% N8 k3 X4 R, X- V"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,3 n y' A. G3 n( z) A
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are( }0 L: I1 T6 X5 I" z: k
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 to1 I0 S. k7 w, S. s3 J
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
% w, L3 U, |; P# rmoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was4 ]7 p, F% ~* S7 A/ V& n
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
4 v6 k1 M: X4 e2 tparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
5 R" c0 v' J( {% G4 Y5 j: Othe 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 cultural0 Q& X5 H- o3 [7 M) I& U
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
0 Q0 p$ U. r" Z y# L) M, Qdevelopment.
Hutongs
8 e! i$ K' a8 zin the old days were residential area where people actually lived; x6 i$ L/ y; Y, R8 X
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions! z3 o0 R" K8 Y5 ?. x& z
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not' ]8 d' F$ _. k' c
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
# W0 C) l6 Q6 P$ e; X7 Z+ T; fwill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.3 _& B3 i: I6 k3 @: G) q! n
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date$ S7 f/ s, ^0 U2 m% U
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
8 a+ k t) L, H* oto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
) I H M# L' W" ~! y2 {' l& e0 Xsupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
7 ]+ o2 [" r1 t8 Q( \' Junfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
; o& L+ x7 K- d/ R( a% M+ Y8 D- Wlive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,* Z+ d, A2 I) M. I
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
* ^$ J5 U1 I1 k" J8 E Fbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
. q$ `( F5 N4 E4 k4 pproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be/ l6 r" K0 t: R- E* c. Z( Z
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong" u) {) s6 m! q, c2 w9 }& Z5 u
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how+ p3 y2 `4 ?* f
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be6 j9 S/ N5 C3 ^
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished2 W g; O4 |# A3 ^3 I$ f! X
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".! }- `: ~ u2 z% P+ g
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
0 v$ p! M0 K# b$ maligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially+ V+ i0 K: l$ y$ i" M l
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image* X3 h) p* Y% a" q9 W4 ?0 ?. F! T5 h
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
6 ?& h* N8 Q U! v, B i4 ^8 w! sHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
( z5 o$ ~7 b, @6 B/ D6 Apeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they1 G* h4 I5 ^0 A, x+ g
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some* H, T& q; ?7 t. Z
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before! R: S; J0 O B! W M; E
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all1 w/ J8 N/ T8 u1 b3 ?* y' U
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
* r0 t8 K: L% P9 o# {# U) F3 zapartments are the way to go? No.* z( W: m" k5 @
/ h6 R+ R& O4 Z2 i 6 p6 V; S2 t3 }6 ]0 A" v+ T* T
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
# n4 A7 u# Q, f* P6 ]& i# zsituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
% e% v/ i3 V1 C4 m3 m'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
& e& Z/ q- G5 _/ k0 }& Lno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so; A4 _# A5 {+ E: J% t
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant% E$ ?" A! ?0 C
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
3 | h( `% ~: d# T$ M0 pBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
. V- M* S( i; M ~9 y1 [+ aunlikely to happen too. Sad!
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