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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, its0 H; o0 T0 { x4 l, O
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider, u$ {2 K* w- @, C
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
2 s5 Z. o) q' t8 C9 j% b! ncity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
! G' w$ A Z0 U( c( v/ XAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,; r" p( v- B7 B5 p/ `, M! |& m
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of* c5 Y+ b3 N0 @; c
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
3 }/ @+ ]" {3 H. bhutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
: w0 X3 O% a- l; Yeach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
+ g+ k0 [- I, l4 g6 gand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is+ ?7 \3 |5 u8 B- q+ d
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are3 R4 i2 C$ d% ? r
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
! ]2 U8 H7 ^% y Aforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
4 v; w* y+ T1 ^ ^was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
. T( f& `: }3 {% u, bimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
& H7 X+ [! w8 d) p" p$ K0 Oand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong. m3 G' K. R* ]; M
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
# d+ Q- B- K8 @) Vof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that& p1 M; Y4 C5 n3 c, Q+ a; q
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
1 M, A) w n% F3 q+ [( f: ponly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
# `9 A/ _! W% g Z; \$ v8 gsort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government, [$ C0 }2 g1 H
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move# N1 G! Q# y+ s+ C+ i
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
( v8 b4 R6 }/ v5 M' O" i"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
# Q+ W( D8 v7 C; a$ x, s! Tthis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
+ G: I% U, R, h& F- J6 S4 Rstill 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& H4 j/ P% {5 v$ k. T# a
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make4 |$ u# G& t! I, ~
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
( a( I/ I( n. s$ ]* Qa beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
( F& M c% P. [1 Nparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
3 w' k/ o I% A- T A" K) s' bthe 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 cultural7 W) S t: V7 O) A' a1 W" B- C
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
3 Z2 K" a/ Z& S1 u8 Xdevelopment.
Hutongs1 O) D0 @1 t% }0 N
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived' h9 d d& v' Z- H: V6 F, G6 L
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
4 z9 A! u3 f# l) [3 ^5 Win hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
& D7 b3 \* x6 p9 C* D5 }& fhave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you0 e; T% c: Q- P0 u! |2 _! p
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.5 B/ V; R% z9 H" v; k# G
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date; G) w# W5 }9 N: ?4 ?. S) I ~, }3 P% |
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used: Q4 ^9 J) y( D# l2 J, H- J
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses( u3 i& V: N, p
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
' N: U& A6 @! d9 s" {& |! ]7 Yunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to( I* A ]0 l' @& j, v9 ^2 o" {
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose," N: _0 }7 e+ V2 u
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
) X! g3 j# m1 Ubalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
% X& i4 r+ `% ?# V: y7 G) v$ lproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
$ h T: H5 `, Zrenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong% l9 h3 g3 g! X) B3 `* ]: S' M# [
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how8 D$ H9 X: D& J0 J# {5 Z
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
, n- T8 Q0 Y" i5 O l Otorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished* ^& d" W$ w0 R6 Q0 z
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".; `$ P( n+ G; i+ Z: l
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are3 b' B& e5 o. t6 p, D
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially; r& g2 q) l& h+ p4 W! `
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
/ N8 \4 E5 W. @of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
+ n% q' A4 z1 d: r. I) A3 `6 _Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
1 L1 ~/ M( ]3 I2 F5 E1 qpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
. a1 c' U' p( G: ~may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
4 Z' n3 s: W0 m( G- {+ Jof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
1 @" u+ J- m/ e' Y( u' J5 N"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all" ?0 r, Q& C/ w0 Z" _
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
0 w3 d! h, d; tapartments are the way to go? No.
: U) q; p# [& \3 F5 K 2 m! _ d; W. V6 ]8 y& x
, ~8 @% J# y; @/ V0 E) \$ b
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the0 e3 x5 A: i3 [" O' x# G* p
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
" O# h2 H! _" A+ z6 m! F9 z0 y5 u'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
u' `$ b0 x& Gno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
! V: n% ]5 k& e1 G- ffast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
8 P% v7 a5 e/ N; l$ dresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless. D* g0 K0 a6 K6 O5 G9 X& [
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
) L; x0 E ?" e9 v. G4 J& hunlikely to happen too. Sad!
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