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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 0 ^3 V+ m, U/ w# o/ Jarchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider- u% i {. H# ?) S, B+ W Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian" 3 h3 r: ?8 y0 Ycity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.1 D# E( H. e2 F( I4 }9 s- l1 I According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty, 5 p0 [: }6 T- ? B3 i9 o# Y3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of+ x" @( V. }: }0 p8 W! x Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.

Within0 F e7 z3 X8 j1 ]9 e' O hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among% W! |" U2 D9 k+ F2 F: e; i each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera 1 Z0 S, S: F4 V, s6 @and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is / S6 i: |9 t0 x7 kharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are, K# F! N$ O5 ]" I1 [ descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and / i! G0 q5 K+ v, V3 Qforms of culture emerged in hutong.

I3 o/ N( \& C$ y! L5 t z2 e8 F4 S' U- ~" W was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great9 W' K" j$ w( y9 \% y impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished, ! h4 k7 b6 y+ D6 |and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong' G5 f; B# K. w/ ~$ F has a history of more than 400 years!

Since 1999, the demolishment - D8 a7 l& K. y+ i/ }of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that 2 E. m9 d5 v0 j$ D% k4 Nno hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are . Z; x! j, s: C' R: X3 t0 W. yonly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a + w8 v o: s) ]! r0 P' k9 a2 O) `sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government. F3 I7 N+ n& D# s8 x4 e want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move$ n7 ?* L( d- I3 ]/ d to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is8 h$ S$ m6 j* e# p: S "modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,& w. b- L/ j* G) I1 g this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are 1 O. j9 Y& i/ G. vstill 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 to4 K. I* v1 c D& f/ ]) ? "progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make# d4 J( f7 O5 { x+ a n- L money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was5 S+ I* m8 q4 {# f) _5 K5 y+ n a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a ) l2 H, R% F) E8 ~! h* Wparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across4 x, M, M* Z2 T% D I* ` 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 cultural( N! }# Y* {7 `0 I2 Y8 x( @0 ~3 n importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for; l/ y1 P! n7 L development.

Hutongs- q1 Y1 v7 O1 Q in the old days were residential area where people actually lived . b) A5 ]5 Q: X4 Mthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions : d% P% U- t4 P2 Y& O0 b0 ^in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not: q9 e$ L4 V. B have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you0 C9 b8 ^: {" `8 y6 k will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.: |" O1 w8 B1 D6 |2 ] Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date 7 v4 m2 y$ T5 j, v% Bto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used 1 C' X6 i1 G, O4 H! R0 \to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses- S6 l$ N' I; B2 { support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically * x+ U( }2 j+ [7 @unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to ( B# |% i9 T+ v' G5 a* Blive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose, % K0 C/ @2 p% phutong is only a tourist attraction.

The best way to find the. U; y# p+ W! { W/ e/ C balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the' S8 q* d$ s ` project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be$ h( Q! K0 y7 R renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong5 |! C+ }6 G w! Y+ t' x Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how. m. L3 U7 h6 k people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be5 w I1 b. _& L) B! V torn down or transformed into something else.

TwinkieDP:

I'm sorry that your cherished ; G5 y4 w) y4 A# Q) ]+ L4 L+ rmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".3 `0 J+ J2 w6 o; Y& d Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are0 w" ^* U7 ~2 S; J8 v aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially % D7 d6 Z. M# C, H. T/ c3 P8 Qnon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image1 H3 j) M9 p5 S of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these/ N o' S8 G0 Z8 x+ b3 w Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those6 m0 M& x- R; K* L people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they ) V' x+ c7 I0 a0 A8 f; ?* R5 l' Dmay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some- n* `% ]8 g- X6 C" ?: d3 z' p% i of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before \& ?' P6 ], @" ~+ ? "modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all ) ^6 b7 I1 q9 tpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise 8 y6 O" M0 H3 U% m# |apartments are the way to go? No.8 g. `- e9 O8 Y' n# ]' c* X 7 o) ]% D2 Y* G) Z4 M; } + V5 f8 R/ Z$ ]8 i2 B, X! F. o( z

Howard Fu:

I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs.
But the x3 O9 H" x3 L8 G( ?situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this . q1 a( W7 f# N: m" S0 E'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make' R& O, L1 U* v* u9 ~5 [ no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so6 D3 T( D. f) X; c fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant+ {- ?) g2 f8 w W/ _$ n resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless1 ~0 E5 [& I5 Q, j) L4 w Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is / b9 K. s. T1 e( T3 `0 J& aunlikely 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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