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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
% C$ v+ |; U7 P. V+ Uarchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider' C- _) j" O: x
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
7 C6 O$ J: @& H# \9 ocity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.6 E, ?( U7 ]7 @" U3 B
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
: P! c6 j; m$ I/ D+ d5 n3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of6 @ `3 B& N5 g6 k2 B {
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
" O# O4 n+ w, a0 n+ Hhutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
* j H5 i* d6 ~each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
8 c/ k( b8 c- |6 Iand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
* Z) {/ e1 o( l* k; \' W$ \. Vharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are' H6 b% S: x- d- ?2 s/ d/ w
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and0 q) x% F( s, {+ y+ I. _5 j
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
3 |. s- }* ?0 m, P4 h: f m2 F, o1 ewas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great4 {8 b0 C; b( z# j
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,/ o3 F @1 Z) c# ^6 U
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
. @/ _/ ^# R- D0 z6 U6 shas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
" [+ g5 P" s* |: d; W( ]of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that0 [. v8 Z5 M/ x. U* a! ?
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
; N5 B2 W" o5 U# t2 K8 F3 Fonly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
G# l& L7 F) E" t% f3 I$ L8 i7 usort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government* o! {& N2 Y& Y
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move M$ R* L4 V V* `7 i3 Q* a9 j0 ~
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is5 J( x) V) G1 D# z& I. u
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,- H: w- ]' G8 G. P
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are1 c5 @4 ]2 _; E' e+ j' M$ 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 to4 o1 C" s. A* Q& M. }
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
* t5 M& z: v. lmoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was, D% U' G* S! k4 ]1 e5 \
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
8 ~- O. n# h# `$ R/ Q! bparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
2 u9 h+ F# }2 F6 I) z6 Fthe 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 cultural2 B& Y) x( b. _
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
, H$ R: X8 \/ w# x6 Gdevelopment.
Hutongs- N# d3 X" x7 C
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived7 M! ]0 L9 N/ c9 e( N* p
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions. U' }0 n: Z3 p0 d/ |
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
2 C- F5 s/ A4 ]9 k) v* A4 R/ uhave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you% A& V' R+ G9 a' o q2 Q# A
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
1 h* N C- M% h2 fFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
8 O6 q; ^" d7 Xto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
9 f* o {* L( z9 P, }9 z* m) F& nto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
; ]) Z. C4 Y+ Y" y' m) d3 N1 osupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically: k9 y% h" V7 x$ N
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to' E; |) n0 i4 d2 [
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,8 ]7 k4 J# D8 Q% J; }2 s/ N
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the+ M/ j! y/ Z0 P. _7 ]' [
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the; E! S! ?, a4 ~3 U4 D& A
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be W Y7 _6 d0 y _) |; {
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
/ E8 {! N9 H( X; N5 h, Z9 }5 [Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
" H4 x' h# B1 {% D% A5 l9 ^people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be. o" \! w- A9 V1 e
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
* C; [5 ^ A5 _4 c7 hmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
$ }# O3 t5 ?/ f) v& d5 V9 `Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are4 R) t+ i' \( ?7 |; K" Z3 ~( k
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
$ g) Z9 k* S% G& `( D* Gnon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
: q- k/ d4 @- Fof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
$ J; g9 `, U; K* {: sHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
9 y& \5 R7 ]$ C5 T" G: Fpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
0 N& ~& r! s1 ~! M( W2 m5 Y* `$ ymay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some$ d0 r0 x2 ]# u6 r8 E7 f
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
% o' g+ r, {; Y6 S5 H. P"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
% C+ k6 V3 ~2 Y* @1 G6 m8 vpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
$ Z- Z- K+ K b' H) Dapartments are the way to go? No.8 c# O5 D/ g3 X9 y! O7 G3 C5 I
4 e G& K5 z$ `9 l) L
) Z- w2 }( t3 o; t" O* r
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the1 k: ^+ y) V; }8 }. s8 k
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
2 n# n- j- q# q9 G, j/ h) N'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
7 n$ x& ~' C) C, X5 N# Rno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so. |9 i0 F, m- B. ?- d8 c- x1 I* m6 X
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant/ C0 b9 J f* [1 v5 Z" d0 Q1 B
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless3 U7 C- a! `, a6 w% i
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is" e0 n1 z$ y: f
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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