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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% F1 D- R0 Q+ @& G! N& M* t/ w% d
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider5 l$ y% `+ F3 w5 U- ]! O% I
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
8 A$ P" g. {: ]5 c0 Hcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.2 Z+ C) B, U5 v: |' L" \
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
. a/ n/ k5 Y! M* K6 h3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of6 \3 w* e4 y0 z
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within. n" `# X3 ?# i. U: ?
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
6 |$ K7 I# f1 \2 v; z8 @each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
5 {; r: T4 S2 p: Tand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
/ W# J* @8 ?0 Z% r" Gharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
3 l- n4 I+ ^8 J$ W' Ldescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and- _- x1 V, R6 k4 K/ @( x
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I4 O2 [( c) m% n* a2 L2 O, U
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great: b( |* ~' x- O% M, v. V! X
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
F Y) y. \" z y9 Z p: nand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong: s9 {3 n6 m9 h( P9 R
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment1 M+ d# K9 H( q' P
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
+ Q/ q# ~% u7 _7 Y( F. C1 _) Ano hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
. A6 A" A, ?; Q% W3 \only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a3 Q& U- \' G( I# s9 Y4 W E
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
& H' @1 N7 D' r( l/ Q3 twant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
: A7 J6 n2 z1 J8 l3 x* p- m- sto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
" l3 ~1 K7 H6 m7 P9 |"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,$ A4 _" f& H0 c
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are* O! p9 B. a! I M* {/ U5 [( L; p
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& p' {$ \2 J) b! L5 Y
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make4 b. S/ ]+ G6 ?; j2 z5 C
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
# U/ R- s2 f4 a+ y3 v- F& K3 fa beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
. m% N( P7 z9 p l- Xparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across# u, P: X6 m+ B; i+ X6 a, u% N
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 cultural
+ G6 N0 p, \. G, \6 timportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for) E, O9 @2 R- n
development.
Hutongs8 Q# Y9 T; C- p7 O, j+ m5 h$ Z2 W. ?+ c
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived! ?) [8 y! x8 S7 X% `7 P5 s
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions, _3 a/ |3 C. N: t3 y- ^/ W2 |
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
7 q- j, m1 v. `6 Thave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you. D* B9 k9 E1 x8 U( o0 d
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.+ v6 M' i- V3 z
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date5 B, g O5 {. n5 Q4 N
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used7 L1 O* T) D- L
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses* b! O% i9 A* L$ }" P) H
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically. z8 W6 I4 N E2 O4 Z% x, B5 y K: e
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to9 O0 c" y. A# _6 G2 D$ _! U* P
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
4 a7 _1 `% Y6 C8 vhutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
5 N5 Y$ ^! { lbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the- O- n- p- ~: P8 t- F' _2 K
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be( a. D: @7 J/ [/ Y4 O' E8 }
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong9 N3 Y% {" S0 y+ D0 B0 e2 W! p& Y
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how# P. T0 _$ ~# Z8 a' f
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
: o+ n( l% u0 X9 ftorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
' ?9 a' {2 _8 M! omemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".1 E1 k- n/ t4 s1 d0 k& |5 X
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
1 x3 x$ [. ~! w; P% galigned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially! |( w5 ~8 r- a+ i. o. @
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image, C6 ^! h A8 Y/ x5 {0 c* v
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these8 ?% d2 k8 [9 I
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those. g, M# S# E- o
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they7 |- k$ _) o+ p9 `+ N( U# g- N& i
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
* c, O8 w' D9 b$ {4 O4 [of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
0 c/ |4 w/ g' A/ D) B"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all5 W, S6 R2 b9 c/ j' N
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise7 t) H+ Z4 X! W9 {2 V
apartments are the way to go? No. a6 |$ [, q1 u
# K( r/ u1 i& }1 I' j7 ^ ! Y6 A2 P, [' G4 u! r& u/ g
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
S+ h N D+ ~' O% w" ]) wsituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
( i2 y% W1 F- }8 e( z9 D9 k! G'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make Y! O& V. _; R) N" V8 H* k- ?# D6 W* @
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
: {) n4 G/ g: |0 Z# Efast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant/ G" V' w" Z% W
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless: B" Y. Q" ^+ `2 I0 d
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
) G# K8 j& `9 W0 Zunlikely to happen too. Sad!
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