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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 - B3 p! q4 M$ I( C9 garchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider / J" K. N5 h2 w# c; F4 @6 iBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian" / z; P- Z4 u0 B+ |# y' {1 }# A4 gcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.; Z. q6 u" `/ c( E5 z According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,( T8 E0 K" L/ B* r2 g 3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of) h# z5 X0 U# j: O0 q2 w; w5 H Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.

Within 7 D/ i* X9 Z5 u whutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among ( L4 O( ?* u. t- o3 {each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera( r) q0 q+ D. V and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is' {$ |! l# x1 ~ harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are* W P5 C9 _7 A& t* F, c" V descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and& f. b2 N' P' O* n forms of culture emerged in hutong.

I 7 h5 P( `/ s: b0 Wwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great# S- v4 s! v5 w impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished, 7 P' R2 I- T8 X! L* Rand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong " n2 i. F3 Y9 v3 Rhas a history of more than 400 years!

Since 1999, the demolishment, p, W" F0 z! i \* h2 f/ C4 A of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that! Q) t' b1 F9 f2 F) ^7 x1 ~ no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are" J0 ?& m* \( @1 j only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a8 m+ r1 Z& q% j! W sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government 6 Z; h5 \! t( [8 |want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move 7 R+ C0 `6 N9 Zto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is, y: A6 C) r5 @8 C "modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,* `2 Z& w6 I# S, C this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are- P( C; G$ P" q/ H 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 4 B2 p0 R( ~) M- F: [- m; ^"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make, i' r: _3 N% L v! u money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was # q! ~7 u( m' H- Z, ~* ^a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a : J- b3 U$ M0 jparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across , D V* ?. z6 Kthe 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 ; x& g. p, G( @3 b9 Q% s; Vimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for 4 j! l4 R9 m1 z0 Adevelopment.

Hutongs. e5 N& S2 Q5 D+ X: W" z6 z/ L in the old days were residential area where people actually lived J5 A' o9 U5 |/ Bthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions0 m4 Q, O! P0 }9 p, ] in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not - `. V4 g$ R5 H$ s/ p5 c+ _have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you ' ?" N# [& b$ x# ]! ]4 Nwill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs. : V$ W y4 B: @; t5 s" k- \Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date7 z$ G' G0 D, T to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used ( I7 F3 ]0 ?) r) j8 bto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses 7 P: ]) j6 K L! F0 i/ C; Tsupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically / Q$ [. J4 i3 tunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to$ }* M; b1 S( B0 f! K live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose, $ a# v6 U+ T0 C4 d# O1 ?1 {9 i! ~8 ihutong is only a tourist attraction.

The best way to find the" U2 C: p& E7 V/ C1 I ~ balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the / o: Y; Q& R1 ^- P' l; w" d8 Rproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be$ n! _6 i8 o4 E9 H2 g, `: |6 @ renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong 2 r1 y4 }0 H9 I2 K) _. jMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how; y5 k5 b/ @& ? D( c people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be# v/ l. O$ o) s* T torn down or transformed into something else.

TwinkieDP:

I'm sorry that your cherished y( `# b ~8 D, a6 h5 x1 l1 X7 j B memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress". - U' h3 T" c6 b+ i: W* DNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are : y; q) N& x% e5 W4 daligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially$ b. _% \+ M# U* T$ X; a* B0 y non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image 6 Y9 F/ a6 D9 T& O: xof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these : ~8 C( [% G3 @7 j/ qHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those' Y9 {( f6 N( s; ~ people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they " ^& D% ^7 Y, h6 C$ w$ d# Kmay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some % ^% R) k- f; \) K; M8 Q4 Zof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before & s2 J% Z! @( s+ R"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all% V2 F% }/ }* ~, O people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise8 ?/ |1 q: E9 d2 E. V# p y; f apartments are the way to go? No. ; N W5 I, c! k) {8 ]7 L- s 8 ]; t1 C& O5 [4 p0 H- P # x4 g: l! E3 r, D- L& O

Howard Fu:

I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs.
But the ; L8 Q& [0 w" ~. @, V. |situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this . C8 Y' P5 U n' j) Q Z, C q* }'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make/ j3 k6 t8 u. I1 X7 U no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so$ V2 `$ C2 h8 a3 W- i( S2 k, Z fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant! `! U+ U, R2 C* v, d resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless5 _, C6 R3 s0 T" w Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is , O( w3 Y9 m6 Q# j! |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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