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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, its7 S/ _$ M& g3 u/ N0 h+ U
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider
! l* F: u K" x& NBeijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
8 @) |6 [3 v9 m8 ?# \city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.6 | g v, h% ^2 u( Z( g
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,4 r- Z3 o: G0 x I+ J5 [$ _
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of# U/ I6 h- d5 c/ x! z
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within- l0 V# U b4 ]9 e
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among& j$ L* t. l P' Q8 U. u
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera9 G) C4 w5 r; o& J8 `5 W
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
3 C. `( h! D1 [: u7 H' a4 |harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
% ]; d$ ^" s% [3 Ddescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and& ?$ I* J2 h; i# u- c
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I2 h: r' ^5 O% y$ D$ V" d! u5 x
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
* p i: h2 V( U; Pimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
/ e$ h. K v5 n8 pand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
% {4 p; s- G7 _( H8 xhas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment) f' s6 v/ r4 a) a" R* X
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that1 v# _' p* o# }
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
& X$ u# f8 h5 a& X# Ronly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a) {0 d0 \% S4 R; ^. C
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government2 F( U3 `9 N( x- @; B
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
3 w5 f/ E. Y+ {. ~% S+ ^; G- Dto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is4 a7 F: @2 k& ?3 n' S% ~
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
s, T9 K8 l9 H. N4 `$ Ethis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
, {4 f& r1 s2 e0 f' {5 E$ F Xstill 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- ^ V- D; c; X0 R) Q
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
4 K7 Q2 m. Z0 x0 F' d7 q$ U5 w% rmoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was0 Y+ p9 G2 ]& ]9 e; Y
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a, Z6 U( O5 ~0 [- `: H& g2 V
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
4 u. L: B- W" U& R: s! E7 ?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 cultural9 f5 `1 J7 q0 W e) o4 ], t; D) t
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
, x7 L* Q" o* H( r% d& |% c0 {% y" ]0 Xdevelopment.
Hutongs5 X' H, _5 u9 o
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
1 ?5 x- V4 j2 W# m5 r+ }: m0 Ithere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
1 h1 O5 b0 v Iin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
" E' a4 h; K5 g8 o( k; A, d( ohave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
. q3 ]- t5 P0 b* V; q! z3 Mwill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.) x" x; S+ t3 _1 I) t+ ~6 X
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date+ J! N0 N( x* o$ D; s
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used& @1 g& w6 `0 l, q% C! p0 G
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
. P* t/ @* s+ N+ I ]# nsupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
" s& d- M8 b. G. |) H8 d1 qunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to" o: O& i( j# j( J' Q2 j! C4 w) _
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,& P% ], n2 |" M( ^* m- w
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
- G' K9 G d/ Qbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
2 a6 F+ i( v$ {7 r0 v/ |% oproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
( S& `) u. v# Q: u4 rrenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong$ _: }9 ?; m* d
Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
" _1 }+ t {& }5 N+ Z9 a C4 Epeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
% l' n( @! |6 m9 \torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
1 r- B+ T: K' d4 f& Kmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress"./ P: |- i R0 x. M7 O L4 `
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are' `- U* i1 r0 Y" P+ W
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
6 B9 R' f4 T3 B. [/ vnon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image M7 H3 o/ L7 k
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
" y, p0 k' t9 u# `* MHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
% c- @2 w0 a* M! X! n6 Q. o- @6 [people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
. G/ \4 Z6 E+ k8 ~9 [4 ?& @4 `# Pmay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some; }9 V9 F4 z' N7 x; y/ @8 d
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before% a( L( d) |( [% V" |! r% ?! ^
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all" d* j$ J8 d% ?) o
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise- Y: E9 u, U! S5 \( }
apartments are the way to go? No.
, s9 ^' x% s: s
: [ l. e7 i& q b& R' B
# V g0 L- l* K' f" Q
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the: m, G# _3 [5 t. V. Z0 Y
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
$ r7 K% ?4 ?% ~) [* x'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make) w! H# N' C5 i- _) U+ H: O& `1 s
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
1 b% e, V4 s( m( o' t C3 ]fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
1 S5 A- w; d! y! Kresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
- I K, y) z9 ^Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
^# o8 g- T/ a7 f, qunlikely to happen too. Sad!
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