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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 m* Z. y. R' D- C! r% D/ l& v% u
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
3 u, s, f8 i9 Z- F c W% i# PBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
, _+ o( `( _7 V& p& D* \city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.8 f" G0 x# V. s2 V# m. A
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,9 f. u7 j4 k4 Y" @" t: m3 m- `1 _# \
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
. w' r" _# p& uManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
5 f1 v% H5 h3 K# phutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among8 P2 k! K( n* |' s! r. X
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
7 X$ m# d& m; F8 K! E2 Sand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is( ]/ t V3 L/ H, e6 q
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
& C) t% }( P6 X) W0 G* Ndescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and6 Q3 _* q( F6 ^2 I9 [. y) Q4 y
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
0 o$ h2 `4 z# g+ f8 Qwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
7 @9 J% F! ^% o5 Fimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
1 ]' J0 ~, k, `1 R, hand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong3 _. C0 Z% x8 l
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
% f1 }8 b8 P* P. x8 tof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that2 E! P1 m# q. _* B7 z
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are' \& Y9 k) [8 j: `' z/ P1 J, J
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
$ {( i" D. ^9 q. fsort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
N# Y1 T0 X8 kwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
. i" i3 T% G3 a& ]; |8 dto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is/ _9 i: d# Q% _3 Y' o1 ~5 d8 q
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
) P9 j( }6 M& H/ P. H% w" nthis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are/ j- Z0 ~- [! T$ N' `( D' 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) F3 {1 u7 i! F& \1 R" E
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
T U1 x. g* H& Jmoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was( V! K. ?% D, T, Q
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a- B* D7 j! e. c) S+ L/ {% b* I$ f
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across+ {/ a' Z/ l) L" H, g
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
8 P/ T* E2 T7 F1 T' g0 d4 zimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
/ H% H5 W n( a, P9 d" Y5 o: e. ldevelopment.
Hutongs
" L, W1 K/ N/ f: K P- ^+ k# R `in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
{- b8 U4 X8 n) j0 xthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
7 F& \/ Q! O! [( U. J( Min hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
9 c- M0 T# p, \, y- ]have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you+ V0 S0 y: B$ i; b. y: x1 o
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs./ E v4 A6 `& R) C# I
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date6 w5 ^% {8 R8 ~ Q9 f
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
1 D" f! f7 H; g+ o! Hto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses& W# ?6 H- ]5 h
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
" X' P) i6 w4 ~$ B" Kunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
: [: Z, `, n: g3 Clive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,* h5 i0 b: X. N0 v* p' n: ^
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the' c0 A* m' Z1 c
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
8 p6 }) v; T" T0 m9 [6 Rproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
8 d# k1 \+ n, y( |: x' w5 Y) i" qrenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong/ q g1 s- N8 ^/ {6 }# n- o$ u" j
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how/ }* T4 D5 e; O1 C
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be% F; G: c. c, y( F3 p" @' C4 `. Z9 \
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
# {( M M9 v" n* F' }" U* c Rmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".# I! e( S: A+ T* i
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
0 y; J8 @/ \, b1 V/ y4 P" a: Ualigned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
3 N0 V) n9 M: jnon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image# C+ J1 u" }- _& i- |0 k6 u; ]
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these2 K: b2 ~3 L$ z5 ]. A4 g8 S! b a
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those7 A% U, \9 Q/ F" e
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they1 Q% t X! }% B
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some- e0 o O9 z0 Z1 D: ^
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before" ]- I/ H4 u2 I) z) F9 b; [! W
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
H! H" d% G/ m) |- J9 j+ Rpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
' _- r* {" k2 [2 n, {3 {$ uapartments are the way to go? No.
- }5 F$ w; e( o2 }, A! J
6 r# I& N9 Y2 S & W/ x6 G. e- b* Z0 G1 F& Z' D+ B
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the7 c* \1 V* G- k( h% ?& ^
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this4 I$ c Z* X8 w$ p% x) o. |
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make# `. ~/ |( h3 R. f$ ]0 Z$ Y9 a
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so, a8 u( g' G2 c, y, F$ z3 B
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
, i4 p2 r1 B( d' B& Q7 z! B7 T# gresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless7 r5 W& y% R0 a) U4 r
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
Y( C' _9 E: m$ N8 u: p( n- n6 @unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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