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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
9 q Y% L% O6 @! U& R' Zarchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider3 ~, Y3 v- |0 Q c$ ~2 @
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"2 X. Z3 g( |9 M6 p: |
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
1 s9 l3 k6 d0 O0 S% ^6 u, IAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,, d, J" Q& f1 H$ ~. @+ T, \& ~- G
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
; ^4 E% h) o/ L, TManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within' I1 z, q) L' J. v
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among2 \! ]. m# U& j; m) [
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
6 `: k: S5 Q7 |and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is, ~: q. \2 I3 Z
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are" @6 u/ }8 }/ ~* R+ Q9 _3 n+ t
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and' c+ y# q9 s) W' D& @0 u- N
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
- P- L: T* Y5 f8 k- v2 lwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great- g* x7 {/ a: v6 d/ {4 U) ~
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,( \3 o; X1 } J, L5 K2 ~
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
9 r% c4 d9 D1 c; I" ~/ A4 Ehas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
Z3 v% r, }0 C6 j, M) B4 g6 K) |/ {of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
, L) K4 n# M- }" `" K' ]( Dno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
; s( \5 S. f9 H( zonly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
/ k7 S9 K7 C) W& Z4 `& [% h8 \; J1 Fsort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
( a3 m* X8 f* Awant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move0 ]$ L3 a% Y1 Z0 k2 D2 X
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is& P7 [: [# @" ^6 U2 h/ H
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
& d3 r3 T# X0 f- ^; L tthis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
6 ~: G' L7 Q$ j( n) L0 Y$ Dstill 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
' n8 G6 p9 ?2 o8 Z0 l& n/ v"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make( Y+ a# F5 T7 Z/ S4 }
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was- v% \" ]2 i( e7 E
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a; r1 G: A( _5 t8 \/ z$ W
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
$ f) Y5 i: V7 \: m% sthe 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
`' O! {+ |; r: F+ oimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for1 \8 U ]6 J' p. h1 z7 e8 _7 J
development.
Hutongs
. Y$ U2 A% m/ H$ ain the old days were residential area where people actually lived5 r6 K( B% @7 J/ r5 |+ Z
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
8 e2 q L" X9 n z; Jin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
; f9 a- j+ Q" c) R" {have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
, H, {$ J9 J7 c' d! T+ Qwill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.$ e' b, q i5 Y# c7 }( D
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date9 K! I* u+ l% Z/ N' E
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
, Y6 F9 C6 R' M7 Zto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses- G# }& K7 l% t3 @. X' X9 v E
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
2 y$ t; I; N2 i6 H" `, Vunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
' |) N/ d: b) O7 K9 j) Q1 v" xlive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,* a2 } j; K9 ?; T9 F
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
2 `3 }2 x' p% l( _0 hbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the3 O5 s9 y' w! `' }- y9 T" P2 a. j$ |
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be- v c4 _& W8 L2 c4 B/ N2 \% h
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
+ X* q& Q! m a6 g0 ZMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how: y5 U$ C! e! ]% ?% S2 S
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be' q" f6 p' P5 l1 }6 j- E! I
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished- U* v, `6 O- k1 K
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
9 t7 n3 ^2 m& CNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
1 \$ D( P( P: @8 a+ maligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
* b3 X; t. k; R7 O6 U3 _non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image7 h1 V1 [& J# i+ t# D- t9 a
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
5 B, ~- E7 t1 d6 t' _7 hHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those, F8 K! @% _! {
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they4 }0 m# y" X9 v6 s% k: _# y
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some* O, J" D6 S" a; l5 w' X9 n% i
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before) z6 A/ ?) _, Z! t( @% z# V
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
; q: d$ |% A7 Z( K) ~5 p% a: Bpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise. M+ l% |0 g' Y% O7 H5 A2 [
apartments are the way to go? No.
$ f& D: j4 X7 U! I- |' A. C
9 ^; i9 v' [. J2 w: m; w: ? 3 q" r% [9 U! u( q- ^2 ^. f
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the8 B+ k; O) ~0 M! k
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this+ q/ v/ ^/ {: p' d
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
* F7 }, D- x" f+ w2 ]( ~& vno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so4 c5 H, o( f8 t
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
2 ]. _1 c+ e/ ]* u% sresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless" N$ r& E5 K3 f( k B& ~
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is0 ` W0 h( T+ g" g4 V8 ~. S4 E
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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