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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' S. }) R ^! Y3 R `. j8 ?
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider* s. B3 ]8 l, ?+ V* X4 O6 D
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
: j5 @7 H% o8 rcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
1 s* d! v3 W0 v9 ?1 r; C, c( |According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
! |6 x% b0 b1 k3 P Q( R$ m% v3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of9 |( a6 k4 l# ]) L/ Q
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
$ y" E% R0 d6 H& _4 a( Rhutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
& ~* D; G5 e5 W" o4 Meach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
" X" P7 g% L7 Q/ i" {and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is5 | M! {! r3 e) V6 U; Y; b+ f
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are# c4 U: a7 v: \: V$ O) b# y
descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
8 E( j F$ U H# `* ]. B X& Tforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
& N- b& D8 k4 B$ n6 y6 x6 bwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great6 a8 X9 \' @5 H9 d2 o# M
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,2 I+ n6 x! ^6 I4 a4 _. c/ }
and we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
) O4 T4 H8 F+ {0 T& @: lhas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
( Q1 v8 u& t! |6 Mof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that
) \0 H, x9 H( I* ~ _no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
! p6 [2 a( L1 ~/ A P( Vonly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
/ C* x# E8 L; U/ p. K) Z. N7 [% X6 usort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government7 Q0 h) z& f! H0 Y0 ~( O1 R
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
; M4 \" u; d/ X2 F+ h" c; Xto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
$ l. p2 }0 D9 U# ?4 k"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
: W4 |6 z# j) g) K6 i5 vthis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are1 e# t# j9 }* k1 y7 G
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$ @$ ?- X' e' _6 ~
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make) m, Y. \" x* W8 A2 J9 i& [* H1 t6 E
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
" [, J$ l8 R/ x, N1 M0 ]; ha beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
# M, |" u6 `2 N8 b' z9 K; `* s" D$ Aparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across) C* l8 F4 E+ ?% |; w
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
1 z- F( {6 H* T! }: oimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for# q9 z& Y6 Q8 H' A( |
development.
Hutongs( H/ s% b' ]/ X; _0 W2 ^
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived
! X, I0 Y' S8 V1 U, cthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions/ W' [. Q# _: Y( l1 v! P$ K
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not: w& {' r5 Y7 g9 _# p
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you- L; x+ B" m# z5 o# G7 `& w
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
5 Q7 S! b {6 r' [: d" h- C- NFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date3 [: ?1 J* r+ X4 r/ s
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used- ~7 O( e1 \& t. I% N+ n9 O
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
0 j( d2 P7 r- v1 o5 N8 _support a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically I3 E) ~8 V! |3 a) Y7 `2 k! m
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to- f5 B$ P. c- @
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,9 v' O7 A& V h! X& E R2 m( W
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
9 N6 f7 `& K0 S5 zbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the/ N: }; s# [2 T- L2 }& b
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
- W: c7 d0 \/ j6 S$ p. erenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
9 y- e8 Z2 b, s" M9 v$ ?' l& }Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
+ h+ @' B. ~' A1 J6 E" @people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be7 A8 H% {+ e: C
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished3 M' y. V% F1 m& H! Z
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".4 J- {8 ^: q, F# g9 B& I; y
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are& ]% n& M+ a/ A9 Z* D4 J
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
$ p' x- x% I& gnon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image6 K' W& i4 H& \( b1 G1 L6 x
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
% L% [8 r3 ]( `$ Q0 `6 ]8 nHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
% ?8 o* j8 _, H @( \- q8 k$ ^" _* upeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
6 M% c% A! K' gmay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
: Y+ h' S' w3 A; y& Hof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before. Q2 G9 r% I2 r
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
+ A. l% o" T% Epeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
6 E! C4 y" _, N7 Qapartments are the way to go? No.9 i' X1 R) ]* z5 A2 l0 Z8 V
0 ^3 m2 E4 S% ~" k) d* ?
2 v0 X5 s4 @- ~+ F. T5 r
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
$ Y! g$ y1 s, Jsituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this) p# ^* I% r% U4 ^' q4 d, A# E! M# r k
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make; o, J% A- Z' `# c. V
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
2 i: x* Z3 ]- l! e, O5 D5 \fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
; F% ]$ A. e4 Q" @2 R9 Eresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
) ~' _% J7 ~$ m* e: z& p O% D. @Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is
) R, J+ d" i6 h r# M; ]1 Bunlikely to happen too. Sad!
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