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A Hutong Discussion

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发表于 2007-4-24 05:08:00 | 显示全部楼层 |阅读模式
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 5 |' G8 z" j0 Y; r7 ?3 U) carchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider v( w! S! ]7 L1 U: s. q3 g! |Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"! S8 ?$ L0 X% Y- M& g5 ~0 ?$ W6 q& e city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.7 @ g) y) M, p0 r/ t8 H0 J+ E% Z' {# x According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,# ] X$ ?/ a6 O- j' G% S( t 3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of ) V2 V# S; S# G2 H& C' b2 wManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.

Within9 D" M v/ l$ w6 L! R8 P hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among 9 \" F2 h @! l& f3 Z2 n5 h3 z+ Oeach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera 7 N6 O& ]. B2 A7 O9 y8 I* T6 dand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is * p# T8 }, _! g9 m; ~5 vharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are: f, ^ Q- X9 o, g( \ descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and - n* L5 W' r* jforms of culture emerged in hutong.

I ?8 \9 e5 L" V" lwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great 7 y4 @% F: R4 ]. himpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,. \/ s* Z2 h# g" |5 y/ X9 A" S and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong * @! b$ |# l3 |5 C' t8 Shas a history of more than 400 years!

Since 1999, the demolishment 7 e* w" _" \. \5 r% oof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that/ F& i7 B! R5 _( @6 z" X! T* p no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are $ K, \; V. e. P+ p. n6 Conly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a7 l7 E: [) I$ t* F4 F sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government & j; O, p7 R8 f X7 @" F" |: d, Rwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move+ C0 O( x. M, G. e+ D. T to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is & h9 {) \+ H, u6 X3 Y"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact, 0 f% {1 y/ k$ v; J( M7 w0 gthis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are5 Q. C: f$ q4 F: F2 I' k6 v% P 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 8 S* @4 Q P: z- w/ @"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make 5 z$ T( _& w9 U# Omoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was) g G- _) d9 U0 l/ y- M. V4 X a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a % ^6 J4 D1 ^0 q( d# d6 Sparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across, [& E) T" B o5 V" [ 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 , K, f' l/ g5 z$ }, rimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for ( Z- D( ^; A" o B( kdevelopment.

Hutongs2 |8 H+ k1 A6 J' ` in the old days were residential area where people actually lived% m% b% G: E7 H8 v there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions$ w) Z4 D4 U9 h8 O! I( h* ~- | in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not ; y1 T" X6 Q" I6 {4 ^0 Lhave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you * D& [7 t0 ], }4 R, Wwill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs. ) L7 R! N; K5 |) u) y2 t) Y- F [# KFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date ! W1 i R# S2 m, |, h' B! rto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used* [! e2 _- M% _2 |2 x to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses ; U9 g7 T2 @1 ]( jsupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically2 `$ {: x* V% `6 E+ K unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to + f, _- B h' {9 o# J) O0 @live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,3 R1 A! T# a1 \" y7 F8 i hutong is only a tourist attraction.

The best way to find the ) p' h+ p5 z. L- m5 l" \$ @! Rbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the4 B& M/ \8 N: g) `5 a5 W% _, x project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be , _& [& f# J) xrenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong% @( E3 |+ T0 Q( c& H3 U Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how7 J* G0 Z: i' ? people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be ! i! a# z. L6 |6 P2 ~# itorn down or transformed into something else.

TwinkieDP:

I'm sorry that your cherished 9 b- t4 s. s \; p+ H9 i* ]memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress". 4 Z# ~- R& z* T* q# MNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are 8 W1 ]4 d) ^+ N5 h aaligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially7 e1 m& \* x5 D; S3 U" N non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image 3 r9 L2 n! r: z: {of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these9 R* v5 J, z# @3 n+ L9 a5 t( p Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those7 g' N5 \7 S, t( a! X people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they 9 Z' Q+ k5 a# p+ a! \may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some 0 C( O+ j) M# {" {$ r K+ B1 J+ h$ Aof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before% O% Q4 J4 F" v; J0 ~& y "modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all 1 J& y7 y1 Q+ ypeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise 4 e Q7 u( Z$ ~+ s6 Dapartments are the way to go? No. " Z% C2 e1 g/ C' Y+ ]/ n$ p 6 y5 P/ { ~% u # \6 x- u" }; o a/ j. U- p+ n

Howard Fu:

I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs.
But the . o* P R' C, W5 lsituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this5 p! P' H% s$ v! s8 e 'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make& Y. O: q5 S' C* ~9 c& ~ no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so5 F2 E2 F2 Z2 e. F- O/ [3 y fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant5 D; x$ }. \$ D; a; H. C, K resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless. r. N+ P }0 h$ r. m' w0 v% ~; `5 b Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is# D0 Y8 @7 e9 O" C' C& |* V unlikely to happen too. Sad!
发表于 2007-5-22 20:37:00 | 显示全部楼层
Excuse me. May I use ur discussion in my dissertation about Beijing Conservation?
Thx a lot!!
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