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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, its1 w8 m& Q7 a! f
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
6 l* \- f) [0 B9 m; |* B" dBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"; V: ^+ H4 V \& |' ]' }( D+ K
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
^- ?4 U; R8 x; x* T. d9 @0 VAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
* Q9 @6 p& j* u5 O% h& f2 T3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
$ I) ?3 h' t) i& N& P/ UManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within: A( n0 i4 A/ D) s. i0 h
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
- u& G+ K B; y: {: B0 Ieach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
5 d7 X8 d! F! aand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
4 p: L2 j% K' W' v% c+ c4 I6 Pharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
: K+ W3 B# S5 L% Tdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and: ~/ H" u+ w" Q* `0 X
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I) s# u0 K, z, I& @! a! c$ y) A" P. U
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great' R1 C% A1 U7 G/ Z
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,; A9 e2 \. u9 f' K# q+ V8 i& b$ K6 |$ @
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
) e7 a7 ^$ e! T0 ?has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
: w+ J/ m6 z# k1 F+ {of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
. ~9 h! h3 F" j& C. z9 _& Uno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are r- g. I) N+ J" e: A
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
& \2 } R/ ^/ B+ {+ Usort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government% I% c) w8 b& D: J2 v1 ?; S
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move5 `- Z1 l: @) o, q% p5 E( W
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
3 A8 J: ^6 Q% M"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
4 G1 Z, L# z0 N4 M# Q2 b! ^. nthis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
, w& H8 J' }3 ~' d# c( f) ~7 Ystill 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 to8 s7 H! U! J' N! j6 N# q- r
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make" u: p) W! r. ]0 Y- k7 o
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
$ P, z8 x' d5 d9 Na beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a% D6 I7 ]! } Z) g) C$ U
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across& B( R+ f( E3 r& t) W; ~) q1 p
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' T$ @" Y3 W4 }
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for7 O+ Y, K6 F- F3 r/ d( z
development.
Hutongs: m/ q L( t9 C: h2 `* |
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
; X C* T1 N: h7 a$ fthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
2 a0 W9 q9 J* P! h. e4 Z; T: b) uin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not; e% K2 s. t' d8 d! C
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
) j' P# }3 R% V# ~- Z9 D5 U& \will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
% S+ l% C# G9 B1 ~+ y' u9 g: GFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
0 j/ x* }5 V% Q' U. Eto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used, w% Q2 W1 Y L. \
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses; ?5 x* r4 ?7 V0 q/ ?
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically; B8 q/ w7 ~; ~6 h
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
1 A" _, c, j' j0 {" e! O- ^- U" _live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,5 y% z$ V: }6 m& c
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the3 ?8 v1 H H& e! q+ _9 M
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
% x4 v2 r/ E3 ?4 ~8 ?% u: O; lproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
, _5 Q4 I7 f( D: |renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
1 S2 u" N2 @, U8 }Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
: c: [. S2 M* y' Ipeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
- G8 g8 ^8 T2 K0 J( Qtorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
& ?) J1 P9 d* [3 K2 Fmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
: s7 B5 ~' J8 l0 w+ T& P: xNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
' P9 z* s& P/ `/ \$ n7 Maligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially9 w! Y$ P, o9 B! _4 q3 j' E! d) l
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
. E& V# ~# l/ ^+ M+ Bof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these4 I4 u7 ^) |2 e9 M, T+ D
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those X' g }. u& m+ i* t O( O5 w
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they9 ^, y `* N+ N; ~
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
) g$ l u5 [& Zof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
9 h% w2 J% a* H) _% B! |"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
5 i, ^& w, w: h" P9 `people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
, j8 v4 S: b$ n6 i8 ?% S* b' japartments are the way to go? No.
7 C9 I3 B7 m7 ]( R! ]* M* k! t
$ e6 C2 N# e$ ~7 [$ R $ b. }8 o3 x. e- C
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
B( s$ q( A2 K# zsituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
( |. B. m; S/ j+ ?. l% R5 p'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
- R1 U% e6 S# K! q2 hno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
' z) W! {2 T& Q9 r& e k' ?" ]fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
- i: Y/ ~# {" W3 D0 bresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
' K) f0 e- r2 i! H, F$ F- UBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is9 c4 L1 T- U( @$ t* Z
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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