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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$ N2 N- M5 `7 I9 @
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
( t8 t( C) |: A/ h9 q% UBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"7 b) L5 ?, \$ R/ b) D( s
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.! d" F1 y# R% Z9 N- c+ J( A: U
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,0 x+ P$ y T( Y. F7 R- o
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
& N3 t0 \% V0 N ^% OManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within' J- ~, ?! P0 D4 M( C; k
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
5 b9 L5 T: T* s+ Geach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera, [1 ~8 X5 c% t+ b+ `0 P- o1 l B! s
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
# g/ c. g2 o# p& U& gharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
/ C/ H+ v& H7 L6 o* D/ L1 {6 odescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and7 }9 J7 _: f9 P8 I3 e) ~
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
/ {( {% D9 J: L3 Cwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great0 w& i' ~: {8 r
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
% |/ J: @4 S: F, c8 H7 Nand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong0 V" a' C# J1 W4 T$ J+ ?4 O, ~. X3 ^
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
5 G1 A& S. ^) T9 u5 U0 j4 k$ S/ ~of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that1 [& ^5 k3 o3 K5 b& _( Z5 w6 b' ^
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are# Q. T0 ]' {7 {9 P2 Z/ E, I( w9 `
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a: D! j2 Z4 N* [7 `: e
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government1 O" d- m0 ~/ g
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
7 I, u `& Z4 M" x7 a* Z: mto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is% Q! T) R; _8 i# x
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
1 h5 n ^. ~# athis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are6 `; }& p7 _+ D$ g8 l9 z
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
" }9 k' p' B9 Z' J8 i"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
4 _. Q7 Q* S/ X2 x- N# @3 f# Kmoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was2 J# \+ S& V# k# Y3 U8 J1 _, n
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
6 u; L) a# g( f8 }parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
- s( v! R% C. D* nthe 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# y% |. r' J( [( S. z+ Y x
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for) _6 @: E0 S# Q
development.
Hutongs
: A# M2 A# q) y! o8 u! w, A; l( Jin the old days were residential area where people actually lived/ G% G2 O% |. `, [' f: a# l
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions. ^) o/ z+ O; D3 x
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not3 n& |. W' b% N( M- N
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you: \% c$ y8 l* I5 \' `1 k5 p
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.1 h! @+ Z$ u3 f0 z k
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date. n' ? r/ g- ?' r
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
) \& s# {9 {- T) p+ Cto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses5 D& E" D9 Z- P, g# A4 P) f3 V- `
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
0 V' B/ i h; Z# A! f F5 tunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to! [$ t# O, G( j' Y
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
6 s. x1 I( f5 jhutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
+ V) k7 P. y& F+ W! x* w. ^( Mbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the6 f t* L) K# Y9 ]# O
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be* q6 s& j w2 J9 d4 F
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong) o6 i% J Q2 L# `
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
, _; \+ \' C2 ?* n7 apeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
* ^ [7 c. G( Ntorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
. A- u8 z/ |* S5 Cmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".7 T9 m# ^4 j4 y. b0 B
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are' r9 E |" |; Q+ ?& ?
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially2 h3 D5 q( l) d2 `7 ]
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
7 a# z" }1 G* Z3 d2 ?8 `of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
! K% k9 a- x- N6 I k j2 o! ?Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those" c* i( T9 x0 K, g( _" P
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
$ t% g- P6 ^1 e. U, |" E6 Ymay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
9 f/ H& k7 u) w4 l, j: Cof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
: A+ T* {4 F1 v6 }$ n; }: V"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
' M& r# P% O( l! J5 Fpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise* m: N( `& P% J/ d7 b3 a, g" S
apartments are the way to go? No./ Y s9 S, b2 B5 }- w2 @9 _/ B! e
' R2 q B+ ?4 v% i1 h E! _& K4 u 0 V6 c# i- f& Q' m6 A3 O
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the, J4 y! G8 }5 B6 W/ w* Q
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
; f5 m4 f: Y8 H- }6 y'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
* }3 j! ?" E1 U5 F2 ^no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
2 Q/ Y1 u; g5 A, t' K9 o4 jfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
3 e2 Z# E& Q2 a' K `2 yresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
. q7 d( C1 L0 A2 v$ e7 \Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
( a1 |0 f3 Y+ Lunlikely to happen too. Sad!
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