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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
" R* [8 n7 ~5 l3 h0 t9 Oarchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
4 T* H+ X# _) [, Q V+ s0 hBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
$ P# c6 P2 c- z( w0 Q, O0 N: ~8 ccity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
8 [; J8 v: E' J6 S0 ~. AAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,1 w$ e6 [: D7 }" n
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of5 R" ~* [0 W+ v9 `4 p
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within4 ^% ~7 f5 u( Z; `9 R, s
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
( `/ R) p4 l8 u$ \6 U( Heach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
, w& J2 }4 |( ]! K% g* t- r9 K7 j* Y8 land Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is x) P% f7 M# e" t
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are' X/ O6 e" t/ ?' ?/ U. v' o
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and0 J T; g3 w1 H
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I/ j6 D: d' m( Z/ K
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great, Z: Z0 i9 F. N Q& |; s1 P7 j6 s6 U. X
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
+ r) e& ` Z3 }0 X$ `and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong. x9 B$ U0 V3 u
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment' P9 C! {$ X! V) d
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
/ q/ W# @* f8 _+ M- C& T* ^no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are( t: N( V y, b/ d: K Q+ C
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a! [5 e. U1 ]: O& Y% V. D
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government$ Q5 ^1 M: d4 b; m- m
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
& K0 G$ E- X; ^. D* | sto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
" o8 L5 n+ }, t2 J2 J# X; ?" Z"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,( L9 t% \( F- Q8 a& z- [$ K. i
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are' g. _" v) d0 I4 _+ J9 k
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$ a; L4 V1 V4 j' l' K
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make& g) Y7 K& a0 f- i' b5 M O; `# @& X
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was; ~5 \$ z* i9 x
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a$ o$ P0 l" l% z [
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
* ~5 `2 j) k2 l( }' U6 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 cultural" { _; C* j% }7 Y$ T/ A
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
! w6 _5 o K i% K" P2 E& odevelopment.
Hutongs. f; K; _# ^$ U( |
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived& } ?' v) j! N: {4 B6 n9 I
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions* Q, u8 }6 }5 i. c6 {
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
/ z+ |; T. S3 O1 Dhave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you- J5 h7 A3 P1 O# }
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs., x1 j5 O9 b* s: z/ ~8 e+ D
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date- R, G# E4 E8 {4 B0 `) a
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used$ A& o" K( t# n) \2 O
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
% K" w) w- X( g; V2 H/ lsupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
* w/ g( @. g, `; _unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
4 L# y, g/ C( ulive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
. P* b$ N7 W2 c3 vhutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the1 s& o9 V; H. G2 g
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
5 A$ I2 X# L- p# v, y! d4 X/ \project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be. ~0 ^4 Y/ X+ U4 ` H
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong/ k$ d6 G1 C3 ]) N! A7 Z
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
k1 S- h* j* B# b. f: W" s: Apeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
A0 G& j' o8 b! n. `( s+ Ltorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
# s$ {: k. g9 M+ h1 X, t0 Jmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".: R0 y! T. \$ {" ~" p- N$ M
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are# Y7 z8 B: {8 A- R# I! R
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
8 K2 U8 x! k8 D( ~# Xnon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image! ^( a, U+ z ~* y# B
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these5 c* |$ ?1 V1 l/ j7 T
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
1 {( k. x5 r1 O* G7 Jpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they6 n( k+ C* ~$ u& Z+ N
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
3 e$ _ \) Z4 }7 y1 |of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before* q- J! r7 q4 u
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
$ a! ^% d+ D6 Z% X* l3 Qpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise, q. ?7 \$ d# m4 N, k2 ~
apartments are the way to go? No.) }" X/ `/ S J6 z
+ s' O$ C8 W0 p- _5 p3 J% Z8 Z g) G7 m
' y1 h# }$ e" C, K+ Z2 c
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
& i4 k, y" a, asituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this$ v2 l% ?7 m4 c5 H d* u @
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
( r$ _& A5 V# K4 K6 Bno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so8 v* X. X. V/ Z
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
" I2 t4 w+ s7 K3 b/ w n+ Oresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless8 E# {+ E" [- k9 {! z6 \' g4 x. m
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
$ x+ A* e, N& H9 W' nunlikely to happen too. Sad!
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