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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
3 c0 M2 R/ N" q5 ]0 b9 Narchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider4 `% c# t2 u. b- K% {% R& E
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian". Y' W% a6 q8 s( V1 O5 U8 V
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.* ^+ p6 a% }* ^1 P
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,4 l/ Z6 Z9 ]& _: U
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
. o4 t& F+ \2 pManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within+ w" M$ U% }# B' |5 h8 G( u
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
; _7 \& G/ J+ v6 Eeach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera$ u, ~, a1 e" |0 H. S8 [! B4 n: K
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is& g" F- L( A- J! Q2 l
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are2 \% o& J* R3 q0 R
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and8 T# e% ]1 k0 n+ ~- f! p7 b
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I5 ?3 S2 ]2 P9 H6 r: `- l2 H& ]1 q
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
+ h8 z* _: S/ S i& O* Bimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,# |# X$ E# @2 q4 \' O9 G
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
/ F) R6 }' |4 nhas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
/ u1 A7 E$ h. T4 Qof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
$ X8 w% t8 W. m; s. w3 d h" fno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are7 W8 n* N* O3 U, Z a- [1 U# G
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a% C. L5 F3 q9 ^- ]8 @- s
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
$ d7 _- M! F8 k. zwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
/ L) L* h$ |( ]7 S( cto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
' v' z/ u5 O9 ~" s( G1 y- B. [" O"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,9 {' o7 S, k7 _4 C
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are( r7 Z5 y) c* {' l; j
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
5 R1 K5 D7 M% v+ }"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
3 \ S: s9 P6 Z: P) @+ q& [money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was! ^# g: r1 z& a+ z1 F: F
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
, d. W+ l8 U V2 F# yparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
e( T- ~) u% _/ y0 U& s# Othe 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 cultural9 e" y+ o* i7 q+ k( r6 g
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for; F- m" M* _6 b* F1 V* {' j
development.
Hutongs% i6 m' T+ X) i" o4 v
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
2 @: c% J0 p. `& C; `there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
# _1 n: A* v. F2 f4 m; m; _in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
i, L l. ]+ |. y' M: B( `have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you: }0 N" v" b0 w
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.. X# Z4 t- O( ], S* X
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date \( p3 M- _, G5 L( D
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used1 J* \$ e* W% W* m! @
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses" N' z3 T# m# C
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically" E+ k( O; ~- \9 V+ t
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
! `! ^8 D( g, G+ vlive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,& [2 T0 I) `% m
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
3 H/ d3 F1 f% J, Q0 }% X9 jbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the! L. [5 ]( Z" _$ }
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be4 l- y/ N6 P& t' ~
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
& k+ l# [0 V* L. f6 ~; q% B6 }) U! kMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how9 f6 X) m- C0 {
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be4 d4 j9 d& J& t& |9 H" e
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
: k0 g. V# b1 {; \memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".* i5 c+ ]0 {9 o2 i
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are- x6 v: |9 ^$ L/ R
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
- S, A3 |' _+ i+ anon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image E0 N* a' U+ P/ Z$ r5 Y
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these* @! p) `2 Q* s5 I9 e& s7 t9 `
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those r: b$ T2 ]3 v
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
, g. r5 [# o! y& m; ^0 I' R6 Fmay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
* @$ C$ X6 i& X5 g- b8 jof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before( y- j6 d* ^1 a; A' c& c0 z) {2 t
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all+ ]3 y% m' r5 s9 {3 h; y: o& Q
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise/ `0 L. n$ u( }3 F9 b4 D; T* S
apartments are the way to go? No.4 i) i: z4 Y! B2 I- g4 X1 D
! g k) v- k: E0 e1 w ' p* X/ K/ @4 z# a9 x1 f* Y
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the3 G8 r- W* }" I) p0 \0 W
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this; m" P H( t0 Y0 [0 a, Q) V$ ?
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
+ q) p* d8 W+ J; ~/ hno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
$ r4 S C0 @ B! Yfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
; e7 X( |. ^* G+ Y1 w! [* p9 Rresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
* K, K [* w4 f9 e6 M" P# D! a% O) iBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is- H. ^4 M% S- p7 ?% u
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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