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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
2 G( k, _* K" L* h2 tarchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
$ Y. z, @" p' G! e1 U* b* X9 }9 qBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"7 q3 v3 \$ _4 I
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture." D2 ?9 G' I( @ h7 `
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
# Z4 j8 h1 D( e/ ]8 [3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
* [" r' a, t6 ?& B$ ]Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within9 f/ U9 T( _ X/ x
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among R' |' X" {+ a
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera+ D: a, ~# Y! d3 M, }5 I
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
9 Y( ^1 O9 @3 k2 Aharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
% S6 J( E7 x& F# ^descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
- z8 H# F+ \, p" s4 m" Wforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
- T5 q6 c% i/ g8 Y: Iwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
( U) L+ p' u+ T* u, \1 e# Jimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,7 C/ [( S w6 x0 o: g. B9 e
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
2 v [. Q; E# Fhas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
8 ^/ l0 A$ H9 X' B8 d! { fof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
5 y5 J7 b& k, O" r% b, }no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
. h" }" L% X4 O6 Ronly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a& S& L0 V$ b) ^7 |& B
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
0 N( j4 u/ B, ]1 e, owant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
3 }9 a& G+ ~ l( Xto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is& X' r; \* J9 K {5 E" q
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,8 h9 Y' a0 `; D* B* D E( @
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are0 z5 \, l9 f; P
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% j7 B3 j3 _8 _" B0 y% u
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make* c% F: { u( F+ `" d$ U) I
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was$ ~" Z" [4 `( h0 j$ S$ P& [* n
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
0 K. A( Z6 B( Z& R* z4 nparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
/ v4 |2 R0 x$ c" n; G+ bthe 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 cultural4 `* n6 M# [/ V7 P4 M) ?
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
% R. X( t! y3 c+ G" [8 E- h" Vdevelopment.
Hutongs+ D' _( q5 _- e& K Q( k
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
% W, X/ K. y" k2 c+ D" vthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions' g" h. p, _0 c9 m: D
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not" R0 B9 S3 r5 c5 m5 D' `3 l
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
# S7 e, f8 B1 Z5 gwill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.. G/ E! R1 m$ K* W4 `% c7 l p- P
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date$ ~9 o+ |9 [) d& ]2 z* K* M0 R1 j
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used: J y) [5 r' u, V# Y! S g
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses$ k! h6 \* {" T1 ^
support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
1 L8 S( S- t9 c+ E) \unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to
2 D& K1 E( p% F$ llive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
1 b' P0 R6 `0 e& {/ D% B Zhutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
! P/ z6 E, r4 @) O7 X" b" Pbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
3 E. D3 p+ w$ }) S8 Z5 S' V+ `3 ~8 iproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
( }, _( q4 T! O0 q( p; Rrenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong; @" M5 J5 |$ @2 E' F% P6 c
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
% [/ t, z/ M! S. D0 e: i1 j/ s: Mpeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be8 D& _8 k$ a- ]5 U- Y
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
+ ~( B0 n$ d$ |7 k: n% Rmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
z2 i' r2 q: DNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are; F! C5 E* @' a" `. a1 g$ g0 O* a
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
$ f" w$ a9 O/ H+ I% Jnon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
, o6 N% W7 O' f4 R# Q5 Mof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these# z, M% P3 ]2 O! w
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
5 i6 [; \8 e5 m+ \5 ^) h4 Qpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they7 F1 @; A. o9 E) n, w8 k- o
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some+ |$ x$ r) N2 g2 u
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before0 q2 S* e! p% Z
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
; E7 L! \% m& c2 ?% W9 c: Ppeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise; i3 m$ g/ N4 K, P/ ^. Z, g
apartments are the way to go? No.7 B7 p9 u, ]1 B' I, c4 Q
. H w, I [+ V% ^. J; I
. K! T w) Q: C+ o
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
4 D, }# v3 ?: Gsituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this s+ }. B! s1 K, o1 {; a$ D' V
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
+ i' L; i4 m9 S8 d- qno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
. s! P o% }4 @- o5 f! E% yfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant+ W7 E U3 |8 Q! Q
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
# O9 I0 `2 L j0 S C2 OBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is6 l, d7 @; s$ @( D! q7 j1 ~+ y
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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