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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$ \! q2 `. k& C2 W: I5 _9 d architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider {6 R" G' w1 J3 BBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian" 8 L5 {3 ~8 q! O1 f$ Ccity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.. a: g! X% L; Y( n L According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty, " W9 l8 p: x9 S% r6 H. j' K: A) Z3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of% C. N* Z @3 h Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.

Within, ]6 M* z! V0 @+ q0 J* \ hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among' F/ ^: h T8 k$ V' F: e each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera4 y+ E* D" h5 H( d5 v0 Q8 b and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is% S7 {. I5 p! p) T harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are. n7 a8 f! F# |1 N2 {0 E descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and & @/ [. U$ n1 v2 R Eforms of culture emerged in hutong.

I / P( x ?+ g% s' r; ewas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great: A* @! z) x" G- b% l7 P- b impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,6 X* U5 J) m5 A& T, n# G w and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong3 E# o8 T6 s9 P; v! @- U1 b2 R has a history of more than 400 years!

Since 1999, the demolishment; u) t. E9 `$ A% {! R2 M0 G of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that # ]" Z- M- S# W* vno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are 0 Y4 E( n f) M/ zonly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a . i9 _) Z D2 Q$ O5 P+ r6 ^sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government 5 k- g( S8 v1 j; ?0 Iwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move" e. k, N( E/ c* o& ], X to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is3 D7 c0 m; H1 J- z7 U4 p0 ~4 Z "modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,3 z+ B" d. r$ p3 p! M this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are & C$ Z) k) |2 f( o* W! astill 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, i3 B! Y. @2 g( A' ^ "progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make; q! l! w. p- ^1 n5 y5 g* G money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was& U/ J! T" n4 K7 e, J$ ? a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a7 t# F% d3 s" [% y/ O$ R9 n; O parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across . V2 w' B F7 W7 m& D% J6 |5 ]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 ) u7 L8 c* r& n$ h- e9 j" [importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for ; F4 @6 V. L1 A! W! wdevelopment.

Hutongs3 h* p3 z2 t1 W in the old days were residential area where people actually lived% v7 p1 Z* v" F) k5 S1 d% q there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions + F- O7 e4 j' E- U$ ^7 Hin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not0 ]8 F- x( P4 }5 |- V; {9 P/ W( O have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you 9 v+ h* l$ [$ S5 g3 @, E+ Swill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs. : f) s6 x- J7 i2 u) Q0 H$ BFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date ! R" o0 z4 b' l% T5 d# dto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used 1 Y. p( u3 Y' h" P& T' I/ q' zto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses9 o8 F/ o$ a$ ~* S) b" M( y support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically0 X* `& _( A( h' F% g& C unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to( X ]0 J2 F3 C) S c# ^- ? live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose, ) m5 L! L7 i& P% j7 bhutong is only a tourist attraction.

The best way to find the / c+ s5 n& r' D3 W4 K6 Ubalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the4 c# G S2 f3 w5 o" W project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be( E* e1 s7 b! c# `# Z% i renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong# {5 R/ j7 I& ~4 T Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how! m: F# t) U1 y/ _1 u3 a0 i people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be# U* X- J, x8 k: g5 L torn down or transformed into something else.

TwinkieDP:

I'm sorry that your cherished9 ?6 e% X* l6 S8 s( |# \6 ?+ w/ e memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".4 O4 R6 n' o; R$ ? Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are+ ^2 |" N. P0 w% U( l aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially+ Q K. J" A$ ?1 d7 e J$ n! U non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image, l7 N8 u- D: {" h9 S of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these 6 V9 O$ h+ x. [8 H" D {4 a) |Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those" u$ O% W+ j. ]; c% Y) H people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they( Z# M( k9 N( F) @/ Q may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some 4 M Z! u1 Y5 u/ dof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before$ V1 q, k) A5 d, b "modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all/ Z1 B+ \ _* r4 }& T% G. O% R$ }7 z people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise 7 i& A# W0 c$ k: aapartments are the way to go? No. ; ]; t' F8 P, {% q. Z: {8 c" B( E0 q 9 u6 Q3 r+ a' t, R 0 G* u2 F" O, D/ F* i

Howard Fu:

I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs.
But the5 [8 l; C2 K6 k8 p situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this 0 Q3 [. W0 O% K% I. o* ^& r& w% `'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make . f% f3 p; G$ C- H: d: yno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so 3 F, C w& r( f1 c' ?/ Z& Cfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant+ |: S' f% T' s resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless 9 V$ S$ G: z: ~: ^1 h; h" `1 k3 cBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is$ H5 `9 d4 w9 T3 c6 B3 r8 G* W+ | 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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