服务器里的北京 - 老北京网

 找回密码
 注册老北京网
查看: 6727|回复: 1

A Hutong Discussion

[复制链接]
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 + I5 T" j" U& k9 farchitecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider . \, r; X$ C ^( B2 A0 P" \Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian" 8 _0 g3 B J, Xcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.% G- O- ?. X7 B& C; t; B. K According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty, 6 s8 f3 p% P8 T) B3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of " }2 C+ Z5 ~2 _" v# N8 JManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.

Within# C* |! q1 F* l# W3 d3 B% }0 I hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among% P4 N5 K2 F% [0 O$ A each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera # }/ L ]2 d2 `- h! w$ oand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is& U4 M9 Z8 w/ V1 m harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are ; S v# g# P& Q7 s H1 Tdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and: z/ i" n6 U; }% S forms of culture emerged in hutong.

I# U( ?8 w5 V+ u8 {: b. z: [7 ? was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great' B- @1 G2 h1 i" u0 N impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished, 1 ?8 R7 ?7 |2 T' G* `and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong7 E+ G6 c" t3 z/ |2 I has a history of more than 400 years!

Since 1999, the demolishment ' e; ?; \( }2 o- o5 {/ Zof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that$ M5 G5 g9 j3 e! U$ W/ B* [/ l no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are # u1 {7 T1 V9 y1 bonly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a3 [2 M& c2 m$ ]- h sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government# d5 b% [% J# ^) D: g% S want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move* E4 | ?7 n" c- W9 K to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is$ X* b6 N6 s7 N9 q" N "modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,, \; A. K9 e2 u4 v$ N$ n, X1 _ this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are + [3 E5 g+ d) S5 _5 g7 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 3 a/ k9 H: M' F ?+ k: O"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make b: P1 w; w2 q3 c3 e4 p2 Ymoney for big business... including the very town I live in. There was$ x/ \7 V+ p4 B; b a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a& ~# d& I: I: E4 [9 v& ^' P; l* G parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across 1 N$ H. W0 k- ?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 3 ?) }1 d- Z8 q0 {; |5 Gimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for/ m+ D8 |% h; C: i development.

Hutongs 8 x* X2 j8 Z; r; p# L( W4 l$ ]9 din the old days were residential area where people actually lived 5 w4 g. I5 r( g% q8 n1 n; O' o+ tthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions' w9 ], C9 ]2 g& G" z9 A1 f in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not: u" z* b& R4 t7 Y P* e have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you" g2 s% k2 G0 U& K will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs. # @3 e% g" u- L1 a# l: y0 xFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date* |( u5 ~) W# K to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used u1 N0 _2 ^: o; I4 T3 c to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses 2 r+ [0 {" ]$ R' }) j4 [4 |support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically 1 G# u9 j/ S# q: L" m6 m, |unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to , e6 {1 J Q) _$ rlive in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose, - O9 R: l' R: R6 c% v; Uhutong is only a tourist attraction.

The best way to find the. e( z! f9 f0 N9 O2 @ balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the! V7 @8 Y P5 G2 m project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be5 N# u! i/ j- E; C# T9 Y renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong , s0 l& S+ u) \, D# AMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how8 ]3 o$ l/ ]9 O5 a people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be 6 v$ Z. |, F3 i4 B! p/ ftorn down or transformed into something else.

TwinkieDP:

I'm sorry that your cherished 2 e4 h5 c; x1 Z4 Z3 l3 umemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".: }9 K+ B# {) W& I. X Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are0 Z$ R) H' n7 s" Z aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially- [/ h$ ~7 V2 P non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image- {/ e6 g) H# r. X! [ of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these . z1 a1 o f) B$ X8 wHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those 6 ~% y5 ^# u; g$ g& `people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they 5 B. T5 T- }# H% H/ \9 J( Y8 {& pmay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some ' A) A q" k! X& uof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before 2 Z0 u: B3 C& ?"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all 6 S6 G. ?' P2 ?0 }0 x- a7 Ipeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise% d3 t/ b1 Q; A1 f# h8 L# |9 k apartments are the way to go? No.% |/ v) X. k+ \( Y! i1 {) T 3 S0 }1 i( ~# ~* U0 u4 k" ] , _: z: {! _# @4 {# e! [ [$ o, u# b9 q8 o- q

Howard Fu:

I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs.
But the2 e9 q8 ?1 ~* Z8 g situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this) g# e, j8 y; Z. E/ I: i/ Y 'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make 6 r( [/ y! R: \ X+ dno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so 0 U0 x# _0 z0 I% A, Ufast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant; j$ a, \6 h% D) w resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless% p8 G8 Y2 |1 f% K Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is g( \/ g5 s1 G6 `, O9 `( punlikely 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!!
您需要登录后才可以回帖 登录 | 注册老北京网

本版积分规则

2000.11.1,老北京网自创办之日起,已经运行了 | 老北京网

GMT+8, 2026-2-13 16:28 , Processed in 0.117996 second(s), 18 queries .

道义 良知 责任 担当

CopyRight © 2000-2022 oldbeijing Inc. All Rights Reserved.

返回顶部