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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 \/ b; o/ @7 I7 Rarchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
3 h" ^2 R8 Y) V9 T" XBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
: W4 \" U2 w2 B0 a- J6 p0 ycity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
+ [- v( I: y% e9 jAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
1 U( Z4 z- o- }$ g5 X% Z; o1 r: w3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
: A$ d! g- D2 C C7 z& k, [* uManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within! l# i- s1 q' f
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
5 z: ?; D1 V0 meach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera6 u# y7 {, v, Z; y. n; u3 j
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
4 [& I; B; {, n5 v8 G/ U: wharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
. O3 a- H8 _8 w* p! f( l3 qdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
3 F9 _5 j, t" w. `! k6 `forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
: y$ X3 D% l' e$ P2 Qwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great1 C! C9 @7 z0 u# ^, J% X# D
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
; ] X( k: k: @1 h& | J, y9 Fand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
+ O* q) \$ Y% ghas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment/ s% m6 W2 _# K
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
) S, _ a4 q ~4 yno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are5 [9 f5 I; f9 q
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
/ e8 I; ?# Q0 T. e3 e* S& F, Usort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
0 h7 g, y/ U) Vwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
# ~* j7 U9 A6 z! s- S5 V) Bto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is! b a, [9 U* n' h B M l
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,) A" H' A' t# x/ \
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
! r' O6 b3 {, x/ f/ v% G& r6 jstill 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& Y+ a- V0 q6 V6 l! ~! L: _& f
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make3 q# x- i# d( L7 Q: z k: y
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was8 B4 ~6 e2 F* o7 q* s# m
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a( F) o9 Z, k* {* d5 H; i
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
" g; Q+ i& g) ~9 ~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 cultural4 O2 o1 Y& E8 g6 P9 I# o, c' b
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
2 r4 O1 ?' w) Y% M! R1 k% Sdevelopment.
Hutongs
* N' K' d+ C, E! G5 _1 Q( Din the old days were residential area where people actually lived2 T+ x4 D( R. O6 ^. `+ T3 V( _" S
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions5 U" L, q5 S9 \( v
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
: _2 y0 H6 I+ W6 q6 [7 Hhave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
* j* r3 \' O5 [5 a3 Vwill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.( a" Q9 T u; d6 k
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
7 Y; z6 q( I" `3 j6 N/ [+ ^to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
% o' Y/ c) L& D. G* r: ~to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses8 @/ S# T6 Q0 Z) D( n. ^% ^+ X# ^2 _
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically/ N) A/ [+ h0 L2 q% }
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to. U$ N1 F4 H% t( D. C& a/ ^
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
: T% I! c" U$ ?hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the' W. ]; q4 {" m, [$ L/ Q
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the9 z# Y# Z8 T) Z/ a6 B
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
, I& u2 N! F4 I* ~/ Rrenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
9 M1 i# v" m% K: xMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how6 X6 ^5 e4 [, t& M8 G, C: g5 A
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
& I' `4 ~5 }& D! x& Rtorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished& b+ X. d+ L+ N8 T; t9 @1 R
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
) L- ^, _( P: i: C2 wNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are3 k" V$ O! G/ G2 [: C. j' p; j
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially0 {" Y* |6 _: I, C4 F
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image6 J+ f8 a6 f3 e: y0 P7 Q0 q
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these! \# @; G9 g$ Y7 [9 [
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those5 \) F9 k3 n) {1 f4 \- w$ X
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they7 M8 s3 ?; J7 j5 e2 _ @9 s' L9 M
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
$ K& ~1 D9 d0 y1 `" ~9 g, aof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before0 |! {3 N# X6 t$ n) J, c) S
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
8 U- k. A5 H" m4 mpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
& j. a" k2 [1 ]' ?$ ^apartments are the way to go? No.
9 U7 k7 u% u3 J y. A+ o% n4 a! m7 k
4 w* v: | V6 ^% K$ h, X( V 9 ?1 {! C% K: w( V9 b3 F5 Q$ X0 \& |
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the- V ^0 ~" w+ H6 S6 ?2 v# Z
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this" h# t3 L N- Y' h& c4 c
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
2 D+ [* K A" ~- |! |/ z8 \ b. ^no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
3 @) j* V* G3 H7 S- j% d, l3 Sfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant0 T3 X- a9 i. H8 ~4 \
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless( d5 z" o+ H; k/ U
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is- u# ^4 q# Y; z' D, n) b' J
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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