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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/ V& Z# Z6 i: q5 a) ]7 ] w1 ~
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider- [; |+ m$ H) f
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"* K2 V4 l8 W4 k8 k) `% D. J
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
5 X M. \9 ?3 jAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,8 t7 ~$ [' e2 \% _ h6 y
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of" o7 {, S8 {0 H" [( l& ?+ x
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
' h" ]3 f) ]& ohutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among6 ^* B V. C5 N
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
& W, ^ J8 t4 k3 T. J- L9 ~- w& _# Fand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is: z/ a0 p# g" [* m) n z1 z: R
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
( c( y- A; o7 r0 }" x+ p6 B( @descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
# {" u2 E" d$ f3 }& qforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I y' s! K+ J* u& `" I
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
# O% ?8 Z/ \/ o; B- A5 K% oimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,; D6 H8 o. R8 n
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
# z* R# y1 a2 u, [has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment6 L- w% L* n7 M j3 R
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that6 G' f8 n: [7 Y- b4 _$ {
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
* s4 W! z) d; w% h. F0 Lonly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a3 J% Z, b1 B: ?; p& b8 U1 B
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government. a. d4 `) K* P2 P) {
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move* V; H! i9 {6 D V5 e7 C; Z; K
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
1 r, L! v" p: H+ S& T n$ }& A* T"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
: {8 w/ ~$ C8 {0 Athis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are+ y# Z( q! I# M$ y7 I8 M* h
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$ e/ g: K8 i, A1 l& A
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
# x0 V% i; F1 p$ ^money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
" N" E0 q" u$ D( Q& e; j$ _. Ba beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
3 e% A# R, D& q- s! w$ k+ P" @: Aparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
6 [4 |8 I5 }4 c/ m/ ythe 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
9 p; l. v# s, x( i+ Dimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
0 p% o; v0 a/ n# R9 h2 ~* C$ Z3 Bdevelopment.
Hutongs+ N6 L: |* l U" w9 G3 m7 C: H
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived9 n: a/ C: f! s! x1 W6 I; b+ p
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions7 S" |1 |( u) d- @7 `( ~3 P
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
3 L6 w( ~! f- C4 s1 ?: Rhave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you/ a7 M% x3 I! X6 G
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
I9 R- A- a0 r& J, AFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
6 K% e& }: v( ]; nto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
2 U* |8 S' K9 o0 l- W' C7 k1 oto hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
) n2 e: S/ ^* G7 x* Osupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
8 ^8 j( K$ s3 |% munfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to3 B- Z* A* @, ~, a' B8 U
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
& m, W( Y2 ?( p, n+ ahutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
6 O/ o6 b2 X4 a; c0 H" w5 g' Ubalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the. m; U* P/ M6 f+ t0 g B* v* v
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be; ^- o' }& \2 h% b3 c- {8 d: d
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
/ S6 ]% x: V7 ]" S& y" eMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how) d8 o/ x _. i" Z8 o5 {# m" h4 j
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be7 F; i/ ~$ u; X4 {
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
( B x+ a! s; [8 r3 i8 Fmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".* y/ ] ~* q; f, q6 o8 n# s# M+ p
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are$ d7 K x" `, S2 M) B
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially7 C+ N4 c3 T1 \
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image2 F( w* A" u" ^$ d9 {5 w1 r8 ?' P
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
# u4 w1 m. H6 I& T, a/ mHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
0 l& M4 B" D; ]* Z' ~people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they: H+ \& b$ Y& e! ]! s
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some2 e$ E# I4 u! W: u. M, L, U
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
7 E1 L) M2 ^3 |/ f; {"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
) r. A J: e- h) a0 |! \people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise# u2 E8 D% i+ O" B
apartments are the way to go? No.0 G; n) d, i, K$ ~/ x, f
! ^ m5 l* R4 M1 z6 ]1 c2 L& o! Z
% P- A$ s. P8 ]; r
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the/ Q5 `: b: k% a, F" Z
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this6 g" t: _. E3 t& H6 P0 {
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
' _9 ?; v5 ~+ Dno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so; @; n* R% O8 p& ]. ^0 m
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant% m( B2 {$ i* s% `1 @
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
# L1 b( k$ R* H; Q [8 X! H7 QBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is8 l* r8 a N% k& ^2 D
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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