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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, its9 k) J" x+ o2 L+ O: W; W. x5 ]
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider. C" W3 @& x1 r- Z$ F/ Z
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
6 s, i# k' _3 i3 K/ i6 S2 Hcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture. C' z4 `: b$ r1 J, s
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,2 i* S$ O6 x+ }- d! q4 u4 A
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
) Q& n! g. G- A: ~1 }Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within0 T. d$ S; ?& k$ p
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among6 h5 q" F! o9 a
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
- M" T9 x3 o6 uand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is* x7 \. ^6 X+ o, s9 `( e+ u( f
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
+ p/ b9 C! q$ h( E: g* Q3 ?- W" zdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
, J7 F0 M6 ~, @( S! G1 o: ]forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I7 I8 h" |- e: a3 c1 F' V9 B
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great* z5 a/ h- W# H1 L$ a
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,0 Z: Z8 h1 D( r5 T0 S! p
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong9 l% }. D+ p) Z9 g. w2 c
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment. X% `% D, p3 q4 J6 \' L
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that8 w% H Y0 \) v t
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
; v4 [; G- y8 [" m* Z. a$ Fonly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a0 x* ]. c8 h' H# ]1 u1 j4 n% u+ n
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
0 v6 K5 `+ ?) ]/ k' p6 M. Twant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move O% g: i. j. f: J' O9 x2 K2 m
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
, D' P$ s9 j/ i8 y- x"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact," {9 ]4 N0 K4 Z+ c, D
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
% K" _1 p6 }# _ ^1 I3 P$ Istill 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
$ f5 c+ C z6 d( f$ s: P& R0 w"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make! ^2 ^+ C- M0 @
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was3 i; Q2 m4 a) c: E7 ^$ N3 s+ r
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a5 @9 l; @0 N+ ^& b3 d2 E' v6 ^
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
" d% ~- r9 J. q9 v$ G& O; Bthe 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 cultural9 b; ]; ]: h& R0 C( y
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
3 P( c1 F& `4 D1 Udevelopment.
Hutongs
% Z$ d7 g3 v/ D+ }- W6 Fin the old days were residential area where people actually lived: z" @ A& S+ `9 j
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
4 Q2 @; T9 H* a+ e9 }2 X7 qin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not% N* g- K7 _# T0 C% F
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you: c/ X5 `4 }6 k5 E+ P
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.& B5 Q0 k2 F* [0 d- t6 }
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
1 s* {! Y: q/ F7 B$ M, Ito support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
7 M3 K* `3 {0 j- W: xto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses' [( F: p- G: z- S3 `9 m- d* ~
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
& S! O9 t. a h9 {7 h3 q& y" lunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
8 u9 b; t( M& R5 m: d0 A) blive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,! N M9 o5 L$ o9 ]5 q8 {* P9 D0 M
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the$ H! q' w9 N8 A8 G6 ]1 B' @7 A! j
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
: e9 c4 O/ j: s0 K, a9 x r1 @0 fproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be1 ~5 V( F# ^! J! u/ l& p. |( n3 U; N
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong- j+ G! v2 F$ O3 a; I
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
8 q0 [0 @0 }# |3 Z6 w/ H" q; Mpeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
8 h+ m4 L" v1 h1 F- ~& x3 itorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
7 U! H% l+ b- S6 }" |* omemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
' D$ g6 i% H) ?+ [# j; C, Y$ hNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are# T3 n* Q# ~$ g; p* c
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially' Q9 W. g$ ]9 j9 G9 b& C
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
$ Q6 C% [# P0 c$ N; L% Y5 Z [9 V# Nof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
/ V+ w3 `& x( N# V& u' cHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those6 @2 j( b* \& N( ~
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they2 l8 o; L) `: F4 x. e$ C3 @0 }" s
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some5 o4 @7 |1 n8 J9 w! c6 I
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before2 {- N5 ]+ T' P$ S) _9 W% I
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all1 F+ o' i! n& @7 x+ a( v# A
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise1 T$ _5 s+ [5 Z) l. i8 `. m2 \
apartments are the way to go? No.
. h$ @7 z+ k3 o" a# y! R
' T! A) G- Q5 W& F* L) p# B) E $ h" l( {) O3 l* ^ i# I8 t- G5 W
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the7 L; ?. d( G% r1 v
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this" n$ B' G! s3 z7 \0 Q. I& G3 s
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make7 y* j( E9 I+ o2 w5 C8 Q
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so7 d6 [# R8 b7 ]1 g; J; R. w6 l
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
. l5 A' d0 o$ c& lresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
% i6 @. }0 G0 \' n- F4 gBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is5 y( T% S: s$ ?: V
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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