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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 s/ Z: q s- z' J+ Q
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
9 p+ P7 N2 J# n6 i ABeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"- T2 F: F& J/ n- K
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
# C ?# x; G' r9 C9 W9 x. ]3 I& B8 }According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
+ B' X8 q9 Z7 I6 M3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
) H/ m$ u+ s3 [ \ ]: M* D# zManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within& j* S* P3 }& r1 V
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
) R& E/ U9 I6 Xeach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
) ]; k0 q( [7 ?and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
( C0 P+ T# K; W" M( `9 L" u; Charmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
+ ]' @" s/ P" N# \3 Rdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and* o; K4 q$ M5 O4 J
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
5 @( C8 C U& n+ p/ k7 y: kwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great# j L3 D' f( L4 \
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
7 K) W5 u$ y. t& C f+ sand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong! t d* w) X. g+ }3 \; U
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment$ P' v, G( v8 Z: p7 M5 h
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
) ]) x {# Z0 k* K4 R1 K: y( Z: z; Eno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
/ c- A+ q- Z% l. l3 lonly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a8 @( I: Y, K; m
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government' a. b" E9 n6 B# {2 i
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
' D* T$ N, u4 W* \to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
6 g. n6 R; ]' y& _9 B"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
6 w( t; M% \0 qthis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
% W, @4 N: q+ T+ _! R& tstill 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; R: J( J! ` u/ b
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
; n0 |% p/ \) w; X1 ?( \- {/ B1 ` r5 wmoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was' J- R$ c/ i8 p
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a8 P- r( x* \2 G& u3 H
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across4 a- z+ S+ q I& q% o9 N- U, O0 d
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& o5 I% T3 C7 ~9 F4 g- v) s' u4 }
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for- h0 h( |& m. G( Y* U
development.
Hutongs
, s0 N: r% L* z* Win the old days were residential area where people actually lived
! ?3 Z( `) o$ D5 a5 F1 B4 Vthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
2 r9 B* W! M/ S5 X; ^, |' Iin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not( T% ~( J0 F- \, k/ c8 _
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you0 q* n0 j. M7 b3 n
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.6 |6 _3 ~8 X7 }2 J% L/ ` v G8 `
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
9 C/ j# a& l, ?( T: O4 H1 ~to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used) P' {, O! I7 w$ Y/ z; V
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses- N6 u! ^7 U* }7 Q' e& {! B
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically8 N% P# P! y1 }1 L) E% l
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to! L$ E, a9 Z8 A
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,: K3 m! B$ v) g" F6 Z/ T3 n' F
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
: V" y7 n( {6 p( V& @4 t5 dbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
3 W6 T2 N7 C+ y9 m- Gproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
, N# t: V4 E* N; U0 W0 ^+ Hrenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong$ X/ g o! U7 a1 h0 k) f
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
m; p* B( {0 Ypeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
- S( C1 {' v) q& Xtorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished: A- u9 S. R, t+ b* J
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
$ s; z& Q) x* H a7 |1 TNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
( U4 [0 A# Y2 X- taligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
% n& ?7 n/ T; x- a5 n# N E; S/ x+ Snon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image* x+ ~9 R3 }# u( c
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these4 t: l8 k8 U$ U; ?8 H
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those4 I( D1 K. i$ c; B% U
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they- T0 ^9 f, O' ^. w1 C
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
2 z$ I" y, g6 K& _' L$ k* qof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before) t4 O t* |0 @% Y* A, u
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
0 ?# F, x9 [, @6 E& @6 g8 Kpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
+ z& t/ u/ K% T; Xapartments are the way to go? No.
5 \: e, X1 u5 @8 f+ v$ z4 G' ^" \ ) j! @3 d/ \ }- Y
( W- f$ m9 h% p
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the# \4 D5 x/ J" M2 T1 L
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this7 _% ]! s3 ~' J
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make) i9 S7 |! }5 m% n( M- p
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
2 N7 }+ P$ t, w) pfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
' y8 @/ q+ f B2 P Gresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless' f2 B! n, Q6 y* n; u" W ?/ i2 P
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
+ E/ U8 o1 k! n: X8 Runlikely to happen too. Sad!
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