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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 3 T4 @6 W. h1 |+ a! h) varchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider 2 v: X' m# w% F. J( lBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian" % c7 c- p+ d2 a9 e. i- R3 a6 Icity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture. 6 q( N* s- P) A+ x' y5 l# G2 C4 QAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,7 S: l- _. s& F$ X% z 3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of 3 C! r! }) ~7 d8 R4 c( ^5 P0 XManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.

Within' m: a5 Q8 Q: T' s hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among$ M$ i t# }& T& N; B each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera 3 m4 P4 R+ T: l: m+ n) Q* ~. oand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is " N% m/ u8 `( I7 v' ]/ [/ @harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are# |* u; r8 `! H( r% E$ o) a descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and ' _# t+ [. q6 E, W& r: Rforms of culture emerged in hutong.

I" g4 P$ N$ C. F- k0 t was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great : m2 q6 W; ?% T: k" Gimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,+ W* m1 Q+ X* |& M! \# A& B) x and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong 9 z/ P0 n z- c+ \! dhas a history of more than 400 years!

Since 1999, the demolishment - p& s! o) s1 i3 c4 tof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that + Y* G! X: h7 k9 t9 xno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are, m% u( j6 t+ Z" ^2 E: U* a( P only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a8 v0 R1 t6 Z1 t7 _5 D sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government8 G; m9 G3 o: ?' L% }1 S want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move 0 ?6 m4 b! i% a: |" mto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is ' X% y& P# x1 m" v$ N"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,8 A) T. [9 O- R( g( M- L this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are% R4 o9 ~5 q! q' F. L 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 to4 D# x, c6 g: a& n7 t "progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make 6 P* R& \; {( Q1 H$ hmoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was + a! Y$ p$ D2 O( J# qa beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a1 r+ c0 |, _1 o9 Q/ e3 H parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across & m* B& b0 k& {( j) e& qthe 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 7 ?: i) p; i$ [2 Y6 s1 gimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for0 J7 j% F$ [0 C: q; m' i$ ~ development.

Hutongs 2 u1 {- F* D2 i7 N+ c" V9 Tin the old days were residential area where people actually lived % w5 ~6 x$ G1 V. m% E. @there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions. u1 c/ j8 S( Z7 f* n+ p" [ in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not _$ C/ X* S" A% p" ]9 Zhave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you % F \& j6 r1 twill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.7 u: P# o' S) K' K6 y Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date! O8 q1 w0 B/ K to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used/ s$ E+ S$ W; y5 T" z to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses( [: q& P4 `, E! P5 x4 r6 J support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically * ^- r' W/ l6 @% D1 `unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to 0 V' n/ w0 ^3 u, w/ f' mlive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,6 ^- u, I' o2 D$ I hutong is only a tourist attraction.

The best way to find the 3 G8 D9 S# T% f, e. e! l. [7 @balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the1 p6 m9 ~* ]; Q1 m1 P project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be' ] o2 X& w- J0 ~ renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong; C; B/ f' F/ o) \2 U; w Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how 4 T3 R3 f4 D; J9 Ipeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be4 H4 w( R( H B: V torn down or transformed into something else.

TwinkieDP:

I'm sorry that your cherished # b" @7 s2 Z( Y0 Q5 i1 Tmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".$ N9 |( p& s$ g Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are 2 N6 h- ?% P5 \7 k. V2 F8 Haligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially / W- y* Y/ k4 _" _4 h& I8 r7 d; enon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image2 Y( O* b( \. g Y- n& b of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these ' L( Y) S, x& w6 A7 H- {0 l) THutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those 7 G$ y' }( |: J% k& J9 Vpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they ) o; \! S1 f' V5 umay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some8 q% q( x. E+ g$ f% z of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before& [0 g$ c" w p @4 G1 M2 e "modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all# L( r! w+ X8 t! P0 s people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise3 z& ` m* s; g- e E2 W apartments are the way to go? No. * k$ C4 e9 [: R3 I( g$ i 0 Z# }3 V) i- R+ k. d' w0 j ( f3 h& t: n% V, W8 a, Q

Howard Fu:

I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs.
But the/ S2 c4 l2 t: f: }2 [ situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this ; C; x0 O/ V! `" H6 G'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make - @; @' t( k# m/ n" qno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so & z! ?0 D' U: q6 P- Lfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant ) N3 h* ]+ ^$ ^. Tresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless ' a5 r! s. B0 ~Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is % v% c$ U& z. d2 |, ]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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