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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, its3 C0 H$ E& d/ f, }: C
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider& C6 S a% w' ~9 I
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
" s5 _& i# n% |3 G, ?' F( xcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
' b0 C3 i8 v0 Q, h0 KAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty, y6 x( u( _; z' ?% b1 ~
3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of- V3 L7 N4 x+ W w: L0 E
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within/ u% `4 c) \, a( [: K
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among
+ z5 d0 ]* Y6 oeach other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera7 @7 w4 R& i' {* Q: V/ V' N
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
* N( }2 j# l0 W" \' I9 w* c. R& Qharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
1 M. P8 }9 i8 u& R. Gdescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and v4 P- x6 j0 B3 v1 M, \
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I- y0 e/ ~" E3 c' |9 \7 O6 ~
was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
( v* a5 w* x1 `' l: T0 Eimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
4 a# b5 r8 o# D( \) z5 b( X: b& U2 A+ U cand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
- d* r# e' r9 }; |* Shas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
; Z' j0 M) [9 ]# V, Fof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that1 j' d1 g s% K# X. c3 ]1 s
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are" a5 f' m$ p# y# _1 A8 P4 w
only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
0 c) k `5 v' |6 g2 qsort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government1 q7 a/ G6 V2 i# n
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move3 a* M2 _4 Z, ]( v/ g5 V
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
4 N" ?# r3 @( P2 j"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,$ d2 i w E* C1 v9 g3 I' `
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
9 V$ Z8 @! C- t) K! g, h1 Ystill 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 to7 \8 Q& }6 _/ M/ [4 X; l
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make n2 j- I" j- |0 b
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
' x2 q7 Q1 {' H1 T9 }& z1 v) d' w) @4 Ia beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
G9 u6 T2 x& N# e4 \$ Tparking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across& o h3 ?9 f1 ^& o6 r& n X& F7 \+ |
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
) i& o0 O. s; l: u4 ^: eimportance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
: a7 X- }7 @0 N) Zdevelopment.
Hutongs1 Q* U& ^% R* F5 U& I
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived6 G( Y' K& U% @5 |8 x. W
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions; D+ G- d( W3 x% i" A: ]; m- b) @0 w
in hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not" N/ r5 c# l- d4 F9 D. a
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you1 u0 A7 g% j- S
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
! t k, C8 @# \Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date& h7 g& d! v; c! A2 C" h2 }" a1 H
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used J3 K) P X% S; K. ?; I& q; n
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
]! R; l4 h' X/ M- `/ ]" fsupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
7 g' [* w% [% l# Q2 y3 U) p1 B8 [unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to! v6 [7 Q# k/ `+ t
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
, y+ V4 F* O& V' ]' K8 ~hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the9 k1 f# N- e6 D% x; e- D6 y+ Y
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
' I$ O t8 e5 j3 kproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
+ a4 G0 Q5 ]7 o& X( rrenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
4 v- [ T9 v0 g# HMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how! m( s9 ^' r, d, I9 v
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be4 q' F/ x2 }! l9 {* H- K, }
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished# M- k6 b4 i0 V: s
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
3 U- c- V' p4 z$ }4 `; fNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
( _5 F- D) [2 q/ }0 l! ealigned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially- s" a" ?7 {! \3 a: S; l
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
) f+ [' J& E) J X$ F+ Bof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
/ n: d& t6 U; g4 G" X' I1 ZHutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
" u8 K& r* \% u0 ]% y- m* r0 C9 rpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they& A; Q- T. X6 K, }7 s! K! p* M
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some3 z# |) Z3 x' ]7 o+ g' T
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
4 P3 o: e2 r% p; P5 l"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all' v2 [; i4 _; y2 X) y I! C
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
6 K! ]/ {6 ]( @0 H% v! K* a- q0 d; ?apartments are the way to go? No.
1 @, h* [8 Z" F9 k' Y$ `% L+ r # l! u l) x! H4 P% Z
% ?0 Q: V3 Z8 [) c, I
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
1 \6 x- W* M5 {2 O- S: Nsituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this& X% G g1 X) I. Q# a
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make1 `0 X q6 r! d2 g. j8 `5 V
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
: a/ z! ?5 L2 p& i; h/ P, ofast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
5 y/ h/ _9 J6 [ sresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
' u: b- \! A6 C% wBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is- H ?; [! Y9 E- V/ B
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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