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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& f3 X5 e( c6 ~* x" S! r" e architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider5 {* p' C4 T4 H# o Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian" $ F7 I$ E' A! ]# ~city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture. 0 F8 E; @- M# S4 v' A, U% vAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty, E R2 n9 c: B& S 3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of 8 ~+ ]' [4 [% R- }8 vManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.

Within4 N& N* L% D! b% H- `5 Y' z hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among+ t- h) e% j9 z each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera / b9 j( f: l9 F* @5 xand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is, E# e' K+ \& s" e harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are $ z* q, }* o8 w2 D* `5 I2 p$ h8 N# y) ?$ Kdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and ( G7 K1 I ?0 N1 x. ]. j) cforms of culture emerged in hutong.

I8 v) ]9 o# u7 E! |" V/ ^ was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great % u& K0 b* w! s! {# Q. Z3 A& [impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,$ }& K8 P( F; w and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong* Z: C) [/ ]" }' I' _ has a history of more than 400 years!

Since 1999, the demolishment 5 i- x- r8 k9 P3 F9 J( t% c. tof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that 9 O+ F& L4 O' Q" Mno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are) F% [( I; X, y4 r) r1 t only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a0 z8 \! {1 ]6 x! A3 C/ I3 t( u sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government , L9 o2 ~8 f3 Uwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move + C% H, q5 m$ ~4 q. _( Oto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is $ d% E; Y, S3 L* Q$ ["modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact, 6 I6 _4 |0 V, r A0 a( uthis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are& I0 O4 ^4 w" J 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$ w( Q% K3 Y$ X7 K "progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make8 ~" C4 f4 |8 b1 x money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was 3 O: j7 F n8 g! N4 `: Ca beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a/ O. T2 o$ |8 J3 w: m7 x parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across : S6 W% M4 G( I" H3 p; W. ]: I7 S5 uthe 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 ) u9 g' s, W) bimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for , v6 \5 |9 o$ X8 odevelopment.

Hutongs$ Q8 C* P6 g- ~' Q+ Z8 R( M in the old days were residential area where people actually lived 7 y, Q# M, j+ Z- h1 S* Z% m# k& ]there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions S& t& ]3 Q/ O; L, Sin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not - J6 P9 t6 a- \7 q, vhave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you$ m' h4 {* M- d& o% C: i6 _: x will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs. # s, m0 ^( s3 n+ C% z% a; u5 P2 LFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date ; y0 i* g- M5 Uto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used0 Q' c. N9 ]" y0 K to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses% Z8 K2 p& [. l support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically 4 }: i) f8 L l* T. ?; T0 Vunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to 7 m2 q% W0 Y; R$ Plive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,! k* k! i6 H6 L( s# r hutong is only a tourist attraction.

The best way to find the* ]# A( L1 ?: P9 u* ` balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the6 r! L9 k, t; t. Y" n project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be : n2 u* ?6 Y9 _5 K8 [renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong$ d7 W) `, g$ V/ Y) ?" [, p# Z; } Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how) L8 W, H* A# s' d# v people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be % T, d5 C# d' P% ^6 ttorn down or transformed into something else.

TwinkieDP:

I'm sorry that your cherished : `0 D: H7 h* D8 t4 X, I" Lmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".. ~$ p$ ^# y2 O Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are " F, w* c4 Z- y L! A/ waligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially8 F- T) K+ z. j. A+ l non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image" D) A B% q/ A" A W0 E of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these 5 A! @8 u3 F Q) c1 ~( e/ [) D% j3 SHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those $ b7 a1 l2 Y2 K f8 J) x @people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they; U5 m, X- ]8 a4 j- K' P# c& c9 @ may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some- w3 v1 {& c) e of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before % f! Y8 \( q- T2 }"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all) l, w5 e" L3 T" c3 X" W people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise* o9 F$ i* r) q apartments are the way to go? No. . {" ~& L- j; q6 h9 [9 h + y+ r) n/ E% |: O : Z2 y4 u+ Q7 X" t( B

Howard Fu:

I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs.
But the . M7 |1 v6 w! O0 K, Qsituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this ; q/ E4 L- u$ C2 e& }'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make6 O. j% M' ?6 C6 A, X F. J3 M7 Y no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so 4 x9 O* _5 P2 U6 U) C2 W7 s+ u: pfast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant% b4 { a! X; ~3 S0 I" |( n resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless8 g2 O5 }# \! `/ Q5 F. N4 e1 y# x1 e9 n Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is4 i6 a4 e& e) c) s& ]: Z0 h: \ 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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