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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, its2 d8 G i& G' E3 X1 @8 c architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider ^6 |5 K8 h" D) c: b5 J7 s! m0 p- ~Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"5 u9 G9 n: S, } city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture." H3 z; _: d' @+ E According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty, 3 M$ U% @# p I3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of 6 K0 S" ~/ j3 F5 L8 FManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.

Within $ ?/ i1 T& Z+ Mhutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among 4 k* A" N3 p8 L5 D/ m. jeach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera ! F+ D2 _9 ]; |and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is , {8 p; v5 S! D5 n6 Oharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are+ t! Q( g- V4 }; L4 Q: U3 S! _ descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and / P+ n# \. j. K6 L5 ?8 x" yforms of culture emerged in hutong.

I: f2 G0 T. r2 n& n* n' M was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great3 M. i' F; \; S+ T% H+ Y impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished," K% [% Z9 O f: r1 F3 P and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong 0 ?3 T+ f: j9 K# U$ C* Vhas a history of more than 400 years!

Since 1999, the demolishment( n0 |% J* O: l of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that 5 x8 c# S8 F: H1 |7 Zno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are ; y! @+ R. U7 e5 x) s' J. W. aonly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a 3 O1 t7 E) j) ^4 J9 D' R( dsort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government E2 e1 Z- w/ u% ^ want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move9 a7 Q3 G+ [, ~. K0 t2 Z0 T to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is+ G( I: e! A6 u ~$ R! ~5 K0 ^& O1 ? "modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,* u T" }) h9 N$ b; b+ O9 V$ j this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are & W& z" d# K3 d" ostill 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/ p6 W) i% ]6 n; z5 m! O% Z' }& ` "progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make, [: ]% ?8 p; p7 ?$ p0 ^: f money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was / r, s* D+ M: K1 m) N R: d- C, xa beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a2 I: r+ o, M8 d. M2 t, @" g$ l parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across D8 E! _, U! r; @" v9 ?- e; nthe 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 % m' a: S) S9 u# e/ _importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for$ \6 ]! J9 L. i# i0 O development.

Hutongs 8 d2 g7 g, g7 L+ A# m' ~. k0 {) A3 S( Oin the old days were residential area where people actually lived ! }- O/ o5 L3 U7 dthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions5 d8 o+ t. F; c# E+ ?, L( w7 t in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not # E) k7 H% Q' Q; K) Q+ S: F% n3 ~* `have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you( A% P2 R7 J; E7 W will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs. $ n, e M4 C8 \5 |3 FFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date 5 J2 A! @" v" A8 t4 X9 S! \' {to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used! ^7 Q! u& f% K% C2 ~. u! R to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses 9 r2 s8 U0 a8 F+ h8 H" k! O. ]support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically( s5 A! F% J( M/ K unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to 5 t+ E# y$ I: S+ X2 X1 M( w2 {5 flive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose, / i- B- d5 k2 F6 D6 ihutong is only a tourist attraction.

The best way to find the0 s6 y. ]1 z( G4 m. F; ?) n balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the: _6 O$ o( V' f8 D5 I/ } q project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be- U" G; s( O! m ~. h7 d3 l9 Q renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong, A5 [" L7 b- F2 ]6 _6 `) ~- [" V Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how " Q1 b8 e6 ^3 h, R: N) a8 a$ vpeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be% d# ]5 A5 V( Q6 \ torn down or transformed into something else.

TwinkieDP:

I'm sorry that your cherished, ^8 p3 Y) S+ H$ n" Y memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".* Y' T) I" a4 S0 w# O Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are9 A6 s; e1 R# I4 j) K, y. a aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially ) b! o7 f7 g( Onon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image& S4 A6 X9 V5 X* R# i5 y of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these $ C4 r9 M1 i( d& C8 nHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those* t3 _* a6 G1 g" k6 {0 R1 O people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they 0 O9 _, k0 I1 m0 {; y5 H9 Smay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some " R4 i; L, M" e8 A& n8 a4 cof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before 5 k1 G6 X$ d) a, ~"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all- D$ e6 K7 t4 S! Z% y5 S7 |6 ?0 Y- N people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise 2 O, u3 i0 Y E, ]apartments are the way to go? No. % W2 C0 M+ a, f- P/ {( t, C 6 x5 `3 a- g6 L4 u: ` / s8 v, A, ]& `' [

Howard Fu:

I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs.
But the 8 Z7 x0 b- | m6 f& `, A0 {' ]situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this. n# K7 P& k: \1 d$ r# L( [ 'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make* T) N2 D& Q7 Q3 L- `) t no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so 9 j3 v7 B% Z. Y8 o, bfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant 1 c' l6 E, [& K U8 k+ zresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless7 G! a" A' X) F- X Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is ) m4 M6 p) ?5 ~3 x( u: punlikely 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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