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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! A8 l1 G, W* `% `) w2 \
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider$ e& J, l1 f5 f
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"1 u3 y0 B* M. J0 W
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
/ `7 [# i3 r9 D* MAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
: L% J+ M3 G1 ~; N/ m+ f0 M3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of5 F' n( |. l8 C: W
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
7 Q7 @, f1 x: r, h1 yhutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among7 f; Z5 B7 x: s! J
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
$ m* Y: f1 D" y: Dand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is, d4 S- F2 J/ y8 n; N
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
, k0 a- e2 u$ l7 Edescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
, @0 L z E0 N; {forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I% H# B- Q, V' I9 M
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great! j6 |4 F8 G) h
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,- I: J7 A* D/ R% d. T
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
# ~/ u! ^5 q! N7 Mhas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment7 c- g3 C2 C+ P# ^0 m, p2 T. E r
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that- V% j. z3 R8 o& z! S6 h
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
7 F0 k- J. f! ^ R; Sonly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
7 ?8 }3 \* j. I7 p3 s# o3 @sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government) ?9 r5 U a/ a+ ~6 M" E; Q
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move/ R8 O1 {! Q4 @5 X& w) @" a
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
# d! t4 h2 v s3 }3 h1 R"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,. F& @# h% W0 R' h% D
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
, D1 n# |" s* @) v8 Lstill 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
6 E( a7 k" ]1 z% b5 Y# `"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make" F7 Z3 o" g3 ]) J: d5 O
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was. u. h, ?+ a4 ?
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a A$ }0 a+ V) {/ L! r
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
0 l" w( @* I$ ~- ?9 |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. G( ]8 X4 Z4 j8 T
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
* S# _0 s, ^3 Q3 Wdevelopment.
Hutongs
( p( D4 i' q3 A3 }in the old days were residential area where people actually lived& ~- K* ]8 o2 [4 O9 X) G A
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
7 M8 k0 g5 H; x! B8 gin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not6 Z8 Z/ Z6 I- x; N& @3 y' W
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
; e3 f5 ]" Y; m" D2 swill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
' |6 j' D% v7 q( _. K4 QFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
' G' H: k8 ^$ a' t2 {to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
2 f$ |& w" ^9 @; r/ r/ e) dto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses5 k3 F: }% |" {( l, u6 E1 {
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically/ F4 w1 p0 L& ~' n
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to% E8 a% D* n, c. z6 d+ Z
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,! M1 X; j6 R$ _9 y v. l/ r4 A
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the% B6 a4 F) I7 H g( [' e
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the" y, P. ~$ p3 `. C7 _9 m
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be" O9 \ q# R' ~% m5 j
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong6 x" Z( O! P) F& E
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
1 Z' b, P1 K: D* h; fpeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
( c& K, \. Z: _: X Atorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
# S7 r- L3 ~- i4 ]- Q& T, Vmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress"./ O* `, L. C ^0 o
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are$ L2 K5 b$ z) ~& ^3 R
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially1 ~6 p8 G" Y+ N$ I9 ]' ^
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image$ Q" H, ]& m( p0 ?/ P3 o
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these- q2 E W* d G
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
6 Z& {; l7 h! y" h' K2 kpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they. u0 E8 _7 T5 o' I% a3 `5 x8 ?7 f
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some( U* i! _; ]8 n3 r: q5 N
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before; `. \/ l. ?* ~- r' C
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
" [" X+ E, B! `$ Mpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise, b4 g. w9 N5 v0 _! A0 c3 R
apartments are the way to go? No.
3 p: H5 n6 V- v/ T
9 A$ y1 t. c* \ 3 B* O! m9 T' }) C/ Y) _& E
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the+ V' w6 ]: ?; o9 D
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this0 a. K- B; g' i% m7 S V7 ]5 @- p4 q
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make' ]1 r9 f2 E! f" ^# U
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so Z# J/ v; ]1 @' A
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant# r( k2 U# k2 O3 p; b1 R; u
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless2 y# i' J) }' T8 T. r
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
2 Q3 Z$ E! {/ L; U7 Iunlikely to happen too. Sad!
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