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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 l u6 P, m, r" v9 S5 j- j X! H: Z
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider5 b/ T% w$ S! e# a/ k
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"0 w( t0 z+ h7 {% D% m1 G* C; y' M$ w
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
. V, R2 w2 d1 K0 X$ v' i( fAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,5 I: u2 S. |7 X
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
1 @# q1 L# A$ ?* }" g YManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within& y' @& f* k$ j# W" w" \ O3 \
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among0 @; [4 |2 z$ @2 n
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
+ @1 S# [/ a$ E y7 L% B2 }and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is. Q( W0 V6 b, `* p6 R8 t- I3 d8 P
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are. n! |7 L8 J: b- y% \, {
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and5 y: {( ^" m3 P, r* R# a
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
% K/ q# U9 J7 A0 ewas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great$ y% m% y9 h5 ]# i1 ?
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
+ ~" j/ _1 A; n5 n/ ?$ v5 G& }and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong' O$ ]3 d/ Q; ]
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment3 t; R0 M, q' {: w0 H3 U1 @5 C6 K% }! e
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
R" v& ]3 L: ~- eno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are8 L& y! u0 a, A% z# t9 G
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a$ W* e( f# N$ a2 o- \
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government$ n; O* F3 i G' n- l6 G* O
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move7 Z% c) X6 S; O4 z9 c7 R# w6 |
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is" x7 Q1 {" f0 w5 ~7 M
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact, W. P" K. t; d/ g. B
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are9 u7 {) z P7 L6 ^
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 to2 _/ o6 H! a6 f! v
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make+ m+ p7 S; n9 V9 U; |6 t
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was8 H' |" i! ~: G2 d( Q( T: Z' b
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a- S+ j# E8 F6 a) `4 u* B# I. y
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across) Y: r* q2 [+ T
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. `7 p% h+ c7 H9 V& ?1 p
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
* B' H+ m* y0 m$ o; ^$ mdevelopment.
Hutongs
& j' x/ H2 Y" c6 Yin the old days were residential area where people actually lived
* L V( B# ~4 u" k5 @+ T; h/ A4 ?there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions l+ {& C3 ^# e7 m1 u+ \; L: c
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
; Y0 X# O' h% N; Fhave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
* v& N7 B" s2 }: G1 W+ A4 [will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs./ W' p* s9 P4 S" x
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
5 Y" k E3 b O! L, D$ A4 O0 Oto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
+ N6 R& l! t, [% y4 L4 z: nto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses* n) m- A$ J3 A1 p e6 m
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically3 h# t. v ^) \: T8 V ?
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to5 B, { `* w- \7 a5 e
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
7 ?7 ?: b. U0 o2 N3 ]hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
" J% d5 ]7 `& k% v- M. nbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the; M3 L4 c7 Z; n" P9 L
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
+ p: }) ?* O1 G2 vrenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong7 B' ]4 t- _# X& x9 \2 `" Z/ Z
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how2 |4 U- Q6 s7 |' J
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be: Y6 Y w* v' f2 {7 s; f8 }1 x+ `
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
2 u& l2 r' n5 U8 y$ q( Imemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".4 ?$ Q' ^3 Y. W1 w
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are+ N8 ?# |; i# p: i9 M7 W
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially% q1 j# T$ k" |+ C9 \
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image) A" F: h+ B/ R: w8 m* q
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these5 u5 F+ y) G" g8 J# x" U* y, G
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
* @; c1 t- [* g, Ppeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they; C; y R m/ T' g
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some0 n# a* D" v0 }5 H; Q4 r5 G3 d
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before0 z: d% ^$ V" `7 ~ x1 Q
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all* n% B2 ], K) D4 }5 h( ?
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
9 x; z6 R& T( A- bapartments are the way to go? No.- x8 @% J2 w H% V' v- w! Y9 ~
. @1 X/ |% o3 ]/ Y( p5 e( q+ ]
/ P! r- T/ B* s; l8 O
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the ?& Z1 s; v; ?. G7 |; F; u
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this+ z$ I2 ?( e f1 A
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make7 W8 i1 \: \/ @
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
, Y/ r. T& C; Kfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
: W- O8 ?2 ?. E) G; {+ a- i; Nresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
9 x. E8 h( o5 d2 K% A: UBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
4 t ^( E) s4 munlikely to happen too. Sad!
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