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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$ P2 D# X7 M6 L6 M9 H
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
9 j7 T" I) \! n, xBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
5 J# r. K- I4 s, u5 F- I. G' K S/ Tcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
8 T" A% U8 N- k3 n4 h0 NAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,& P' U2 k9 p0 n& J
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
. C, J+ ]: h( f) q3 p7 _Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
) _% I* h' T: `! m& C( `! {& ihutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
- S1 n/ B, x* i- Z2 ^0 seach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera: o5 D( y6 B) M# d
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is% u9 `. h+ n& r" @& H$ Z
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
+ w) P$ I9 u. |# n$ D3 z7 h n7 hdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and! U) w1 b% e- l& d$ X" v3 h
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I- M- U; e) D3 f) H1 D
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great ]8 j8 R# t$ i4 ^" T
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
) u* P5 {8 Z# d4 ]6 jand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong) f/ {1 J( }* q) e" v) S" I9 V
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
# o! s3 ^+ I$ K5 {, o+ W( ]2 uof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that9 u& R3 F z! h+ O5 F' \; C+ X
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
: A( ?7 A7 D- Q) H7 i9 T; ^( Nonly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a q8 D! C! |6 A2 E
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
6 G# o7 o' p2 h z: Twant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move; S! O( M& d& r% x0 ^
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
2 N6 w2 f: Y% \# Q1 P' ~"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,) z# `5 M0 _' x0 }) N/ D3 p
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
" t8 M4 e: t, B7 Q3 \: w, qstill 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
! b7 j) l0 ^6 J3 r, D8 B+ @"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
4 ?% {1 D7 J* y v3 W- Zmoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was% q$ V8 w; A B" P+ h* h
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
5 o" G& j7 a( Kparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across5 e& W4 ~$ N3 G! q5 x5 p; y, J: g; J
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
# x. x/ D4 d1 n" N+ k" a8 mimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for# T: V9 o$ ~5 J6 G: T/ i. |
development.
Hutongs
$ E* V) u7 ^0 s8 z( x+ _in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
( _2 M3 W3 n# Y. X+ hthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
& f4 F/ w* U! w2 g# V0 y, w8 k4 Vin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not, i0 `; H5 ^6 C( |
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
# F8 T5 o4 A( Z- \, Q/ Nwill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
5 G& `4 n4 i0 P; HFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
1 [% e4 r. [/ Q! u7 cto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used) s8 b, o4 D0 ]# S$ f
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses3 J! u; j4 w/ l" \
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
4 W1 \6 Y; o1 k! b6 @2 [unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
6 d. P+ n; d L. [+ Q2 q0 @live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,# F: H% B2 I. E$ Y. ~ `. a& G2 [3 y
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the# r0 u6 `" c. n, e2 J1 c
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the! h1 [( b: B9 s7 M& X
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
% o4 R3 T! S6 zrenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
# b+ l- n; V: S& jMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
& ]' D# N& U) `people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be: B" y, D" N8 ~% E! ?
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
2 U" D' h+ A3 ?: _* bmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
# Q% J+ Y1 r1 x/ \Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are/ d& F6 ]$ B8 v1 J& ?" S$ X' ^
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially5 m/ ^0 x2 I7 \4 i
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image7 j2 A9 y. k7 d' t) V. F; [: }1 ?( f
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these: ` w0 ~% A A
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
! M2 _" V) B: W( k' H; } b# \+ Gpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
a- F# m6 G! s1 G, Zmay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
* |2 ?/ i( Q3 Fof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
- j) q. x' c7 T0 k, B" I0 B! {. P"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
+ H, m' S# n# x+ c! C! v Cpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise/ f$ u4 f* Q% S3 g" F, J
apartments are the way to go? No.
2 z: k( s6 x* d& Q ; p+ K3 ~2 O4 B3 ], p
2 j3 H( M+ p! m: A
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
( A, ^0 V4 r5 ~. csituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
P8 \& o0 t: s5 W# z'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
0 i# F# a1 |& e1 v# ino money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so2 _4 X# @: C5 x9 }: p; W D" s
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
/ N2 V7 g' _6 V, }, Mresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
! u# N; v# E/ B5 s8 A- m2 `Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is3 K; B: U( \; Z8 |3 G
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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