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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+ `3 x: n$ s$ z0 carchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider f- {1 U3 Z0 B- `0 y$ f4 D
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"2 v# w" W8 K% A/ @
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.5 u6 G- F0 Q" d4 b" D1 ~5 O
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,9 u, r! w- J! I: z8 A1 j
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of7 Z( K4 L" Y- h6 m+ i
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within; _5 ]5 P, y7 V5 T/ k: B- ]& `
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among: Z+ q! C; O2 X. s* v3 Q
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
' m+ t$ n' @0 i: ?( o; x: Wand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
Y( ?+ M1 b1 _/ T/ Uharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
) ~8 j: D: i. q! [descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
B; L; z/ L1 |) j7 Lforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I8 X$ b) o1 N6 i' Y& h- y9 t* I
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
1 r1 f8 m# q* _" J& _0 U# K( timpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
0 R. U3 J: l; D" k) [* y! a; G9 q$ n4 M( p2 _and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong' W& n6 b6 Z! v
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
8 }( ]& D) n. I' K; T5 Q/ \! Tof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
: Z/ C+ Z* [* M( C7 M7 Dno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
; P9 l: C6 D* _) {8 D- eonly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
" m5 n1 C! S- |( Vsort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
/ z' R3 B& @7 _# F/ A2 a) Cwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move5 [$ q4 D/ i+ Z! B
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is( l. P3 U# S+ t+ l2 |
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,+ x$ z( u; O4 N' m+ K. [# | t
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are! I2 q, p$ j5 l! C- |* S+ f) x
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
. ^: ?. _& q8 x- @2 ~0 u0 I"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make" t) Q- P$ H* d/ j2 f t+ l8 W R
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
9 Q, M0 H5 M8 ?- W* R% ha beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a ?0 M/ ]8 o. l9 @2 m5 l! w
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
, W* S3 Z j1 n) r( c- Zthe 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
- |0 {) B2 Q5 b0 m& Bimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
# E5 R& i1 l4 z/ Gdevelopment.
Hutongs
' V+ `3 G7 m# S1 Yin the old days were residential area where people actually lived! I* X1 L# u% j* G* X; f
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
7 @+ F, I5 K+ T( R2 _5 [" Din hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
$ u. ~3 N1 Z6 E1 v5 I( ghave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
# \2 t% S3 ^! m) T' A7 N7 p S" v, ewill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.* i& R) Y( ]1 g4 O- j
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
+ ~ C$ g% X. }$ ?. Mto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
' o* J" b2 B/ {to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses: d+ l# w! R+ M. S3 S4 c
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically0 l2 O! a8 s A) L
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to7 h& R' f4 ^8 P* j9 ?) H
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,% \: m8 o+ L7 P Y# W S/ M
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the% i' C! l( W7 y* f6 E
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the& f# W! J* r# C% A4 n4 \+ k; z
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be! x. g& o" F, A& a' p
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
n8 z% J8 J3 L8 IMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
7 n: P$ g; `* Y. R# w3 gpeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be% {! q/ i8 P& u- X1 R6 N
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished r/ Q% V: I' ?. {
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".+ y( O& O* `* e1 ]1 i
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are& j1 _! ^, Y' O- {0 }: z
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially7 x5 v h9 C \: z! }
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image% O. ?! o# S: e& C j7 Y
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
9 X2 c) k b8 v0 \' F, G2 }Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
+ r9 U- u" W# ]people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
- K5 x8 ^9 A* \may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
$ I" \# [: H1 e+ a% V$ D Bof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before. A' ^+ t/ c1 V+ \) T8 u
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all2 h; _- @: J) ]. q$ R2 J
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise! _* F7 j$ h4 W, Z
apartments are the way to go? No.
, I0 x% k6 z; E0 ]. D
4 W+ w$ L& R# G7 n: ~ ( K3 v1 \2 J- g% G
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the2 u& t9 G9 r/ x8 X1 U7 v% Z: ^$ L
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
3 y- W' a( @# J g* V'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make7 Q- A6 Q1 p b. E3 G
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so4 n' C" z# j f4 _* w
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant- Y; |! i1 q& P( z$ a' V( e' C7 T
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless3 J3 u0 _% J, a/ V' ~ a, Q. r( V
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is8 x& a+ E6 ^+ ~5 o4 r
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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