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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, its6 h6 A' \, F; L& L$ X; d* `
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
6 H: R2 J5 z/ X' iBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
0 C# L, @" x/ w7 _: r" C; I1 icity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.1 ~. h$ g0 A" i) `7 R/ D7 l! p
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,4 E I; E5 m! q, k- b; I- U
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
/ C5 G6 O, Z7 I! D& f2 vManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
+ B# S* h% R, T8 I5 g9 I( ~1 zhutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among+ ~# |7 o, M* j2 B/ x3 ~9 d5 _
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera, Q* i! W* B. `! O
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is* h& r, [. u/ K% U; e
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are) ^* {0 D. k ~) Q* \0 u* C% Q6 Y9 t- W
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and- g$ O2 H6 X/ M, t
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
* a( w! b8 z4 A5 {was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
2 s$ j r9 m* o6 i, Zimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,) v1 |. M0 i0 e- d: w( w$ c# Y; C; w/ o
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
3 A: T1 E8 s: p7 p% Mhas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
8 [: p" k3 l$ H: D& Vof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
; O [' _7 A1 ?" ?+ o# ~no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are# |+ K4 y5 y9 n: H; }& `
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
6 |1 l6 B! @& X, g% B4 fsort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government. i) i' a; T/ @ L
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
6 P6 v1 \4 `9 jto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is, `1 d+ e( p6 Z, I( N! m
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
& X" p! V7 z- o4 O1 M5 c7 Fthis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
- F3 ]7 s# G$ w4 X6 i: d. ~/ estill 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; ~$ E R; T+ Z/ q
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
7 k+ M4 [& Q% h5 U* W2 emoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was& N- ]/ q. U) t# x# N5 g- W+ Z
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
( `7 C0 A! X6 E5 d. q4 c0 Hparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across/ U" w' o4 T" z: p5 }( T1 d* ^# S
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 g) A+ p4 v J) \1 dimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for ~, i! B, x9 k' k8 @/ h; p
development.
Hutongs O4 g$ `1 c4 q$ i
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
! Q. ?6 [, t. @9 E9 L4 uthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
0 x; _4 w6 n( q. tin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
2 A J- F4 o& G& khave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you8 b' ~ e. X# P; B/ A& K
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
5 q# |( [" f7 p6 y j& mFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
9 @+ c& r9 R \) D. S' d1 u+ nto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
; E) |9 F% k$ F% Ito hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
& w) @4 @$ K5 I* V5 osupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
" U* u% c* {( q5 {unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
$ y8 C( T: V1 q4 w1 t( nlive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
! J) F$ f; F8 d m. x) Jhutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
8 y* N/ M2 c4 i8 Rbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
7 \: ~# O: w; Z8 X4 Q) o$ Q/ O) j0 ^project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
$ M6 @7 y& H! s, lrenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong$ x, W6 e9 m4 E; l8 R/ l
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how6 }4 X! d$ |1 q- S% `
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
; A% S1 ?6 @& n! w7 u& V8 U0 z4 Atorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
, G0 [ }1 B3 g; q; c+ ?" K1 Mmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
" E( \ ~- G( D: Z( dNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
9 U2 V* e: ~& e9 M0 O0 [( i$ ?9 daligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
& x0 p- q4 O. u# v( Wnon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image& u/ U& H; U3 C- r! U
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these" Z3 I5 N! v5 r7 _/ u+ e
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
' y3 [, h; s2 m' y, Z* _! z* s3 Cpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they- k! F6 ~; a0 g
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some6 e' q2 k6 i. {& D/ O+ Q# ^
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before3 }* f# K+ f% I" ?
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
5 R9 X5 V' ?& x% a7 X2 g* g9 gpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
0 j5 `# w; `0 ]! Sapartments are the way to go? No.7 U2 T- L6 e9 j7 s
: Z2 M# j! _' a% V/ e2 x- T
% O n d* X2 e8 k4 Z+ W8 h x5 ]# M# D/ w8 c
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the+ C4 q0 D9 i+ \
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this& ^ G' i9 `- x) ~- A
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
6 q q. N' r# E9 F0 T T' |no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
+ {7 n* @! n7 H M5 {fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant5 k! T9 ]" a. h) [
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless7 ^- f( {) |$ c* s/ f
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is9 f1 A+ Q+ O5 Y9 Y' J: d
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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