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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
: \0 s) }& D0 Z* [+ s) p: Narchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider7 m9 D/ R7 L& s. K( h
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"0 \8 j( A K4 {3 X0 o5 N z- ~, }' J
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
# p/ w N: {$ P1 T& ~+ d VAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
0 z& g8 j1 Y+ [/ m; X, m3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
0 e- ^9 Z. f/ M* ?9 EManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within7 d+ ^3 E; T/ O. B, D5 O# r/ ]; f
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
0 \: V: N# m! g$ ]8 Y9 A/ oeach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
: N8 _2 I/ u* y/ h& ]- oand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is, L# I4 D/ W) g5 M- Q- c: O2 m6 A
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
& x9 m$ e. ~( K; U$ l! w( Cdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and- O; q8 m3 N' h* B! w, D
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I1 a0 m0 S K) s Y0 `& V
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great X0 T" a3 `8 ~1 a5 e
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
! \+ `1 U& o" n: A% L: s8 Qand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
. ]% L7 D% [. _7 c' s% h$ ^- _has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
. m& W h, Q/ o3 R* }8 g$ R- tof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
0 @3 ?5 K; n6 E9 C4 c) i$ G' Tno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are: M d, b4 X; Z) Q# B! c/ b
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
' n8 Z+ `! f$ D9 gsort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government" m5 Z6 W5 B4 r& F" ?% ~) a
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move5 E8 q5 _ n+ d3 R7 f, _ Q8 n
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is2 j+ I a8 `% O
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
- T7 ~: a# k( O7 i2 ~, y# j1 cthis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are W5 h' R- Q8 S# f; D- I
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
% j X' v) g% l* W- A"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
8 \# h" Z5 D! O" n8 j6 o5 u( N% Dmoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was8 R2 W- Q9 U' L; Y
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
+ N. q5 a: n z: u% Pparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
8 y" [( g$ |: Y: Ythe 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: b8 H2 V0 Z0 k& N& q
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for3 O7 V2 `) W2 w% ?
development.
Hutongs
: h0 I1 H( h9 u% f# @6 \* Q/ bin the old days were residential area where people actually lived* l! A( _8 }( v* ?! R( @
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions, u! @/ }' x3 U& } }- G+ e' T
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
- b7 d) u) A* t- i" \9 ahave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you. p* u$ s m3 z
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.- g1 L4 f Q4 g) C7 c3 M) T# \
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date+ f9 \9 \. B- n/ s: T! L6 v
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used F1 D" b6 C4 D I; [( y8 ]) G
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
% I+ A4 l( c8 n* b+ M& Csupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically6 }9 O- l" v' A# Q/ h
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to1 P- e* E8 m. i$ I" K$ Q
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,! l0 y& L' {5 S! d; K5 b: \2 e
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the/ s; _0 B9 q& e
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the, q9 ^. V9 F! L B. v! i. S
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
/ w' U9 ^" Q; v8 Q" zrenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong* @, y8 x. {1 r5 K3 z6 ]3 }; e# ~
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how' M( F. w1 j! f- r& D) f
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
7 {" U- F+ } v0 h7 I) Rtorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished7 D- o8 j. I; M6 c# x) h/ T( |5 o1 s
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
0 w5 R5 p" m5 a, R D- r5 w2 @1 `Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are) s: k. s+ u' l/ y4 b9 e
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
! j3 }+ E2 o/ |) R# }( unon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image) ?5 b; F8 M' V2 D' ~0 Y
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these; k2 ]) A" x+ x) ^
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those" e- R% @% s# j0 w1 b. A0 U6 Q
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
! q. e5 L- o( Z, Gmay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some5 V+ J5 e$ I# i' h
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before# L7 D/ z9 u: ^
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all U6 m: i! ^( f0 \3 J; V0 X9 }" M9 U
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise' {4 P4 F8 ~7 r/ N3 l8 `; g, u) d
apartments are the way to go? No." ?) m7 T2 h- o8 J
: z/ l- K! X" L2 ^4 y; h8 e
2 m. g# y0 a+ f+ A
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the0 |" K# Q9 O/ G( g/ \
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
9 H% k! r5 H2 t" R7 P'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make) a6 R' S0 X. U" F P
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so2 f3 Z8 N# N( r, k" I1 k
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
3 k6 i) T8 j# Y1 ~resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
. ^9 d" h. A/ T, c- W7 yBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
$ x; f% u% _8 n# c) ]/ F- Qunlikely to happen too. Sad!
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