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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
/ i+ G+ v: j# H6 _architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider8 x8 M. c' A# N- z1 H7 q7 F
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"/ m! b" b$ \4 R ?
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture. ] b; g4 N/ N0 {
According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
; P5 H3 p$ q" Q! `1 {3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of- b! S) o- w% Q7 u
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
2 h+ j9 O5 W: |4 r- t) g6 U- Chutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among7 V \; j. o$ P3 c0 S
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera; L9 E. W6 b2 y+ ?1 v; ^! z* y
and Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is
6 J- W) o) `/ D$ Z: T# y; oharmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
, A. x& W2 M8 W! ?& ]9 m( E' T6 adescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and2 V# ^4 S' I5 b9 O& ]4 y
forms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
9 S& S! L; d. y+ {was born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
- p+ O$ y3 T4 Y0 M5 Oimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
( @! `8 S H! R% Z$ Eand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong- ]: C: t" L) q. H6 F ~3 s. h* Q
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment
; x: s7 B% d7 E+ b. v- T2 K+ U& bof hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that5 n9 a, J8 W6 c& X0 m; m) t5 k
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
+ n8 P: r8 x4 w3 z- ponly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
; w( o1 w- d- x( b. isort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government1 N3 M `- z% |; `
want to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
& z) h/ P% f* K8 u2 M* J$ n8 ^) }to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is
# e, B) T- M( j& a N8 n"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact, q. W' P1 g* C4 _8 Z- S
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
$ R9 B) }) A5 w2 {5 I% kstill 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% r1 e7 _) o( V! U- c
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make
4 e Y) v& X0 O! n8 ^money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was
- f' K9 y% S# B8 [5 Va beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a
5 E! Q4 _( F9 f! y! ^parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
8 ?$ x2 H+ }2 \) P+ othe 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 cultural0 \4 w7 Y8 X* f0 W! J' b
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
0 Z% ]4 L- [$ K, v; H; Udevelopment.
Hutongs
1 L9 z7 z" P# Z3 J) A8 y G9 ^# e; xin the old days were residential area where people actually lived
F H7 M% ?) D( T" M% Wthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
1 z D/ t' x8 p8 c. xin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not
4 h# P4 x& D( k" h% i# Yhave plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you( y& t2 M& L6 E" g7 [: i, v% h
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
& E4 J: X0 A1 s$ A# j& h7 L- qFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date. K3 R5 u/ X* j2 p
to support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used( l( L+ O' y# x2 o+ H3 K
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
6 `5 d8 ^, K: R" rsupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
7 Q9 U ]2 _" }, Qunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to6 f' Q4 @' L' g& K, C, E' |8 b
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,- Z7 e0 Z& g! w7 Y5 l
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
0 j' a5 I4 D {( d: J/ X% Fbalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
# Z0 I. a2 ~1 T( aproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be
' R) r" A- n! Frenovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
/ w @& \% X2 c9 n7 I( `Museum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how% h9 f. Q$ |4 U- }8 I
people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
& d+ O/ P% k: V) m, v6 [torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
6 T( J2 E% i9 q3 q( Y9 Gmemories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".
! A" G+ |& B* \/ \8 n% y* m5 HNothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are! ~1 u9 z6 b) b5 u
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially
$ o) B* K) h) g. V4 E8 Vnon-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image" k! f `9 Q2 G5 I3 P6 Y1 O5 l* b6 _
of the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these! w4 J. [3 e3 P2 _: N
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those$ G$ ^0 s- u6 g( [$ T2 H
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they+ E5 o3 w: H9 X1 r( q4 M
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
5 y- l) o! x7 S- k7 W& cof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
( q6 }3 v+ x' {+ K"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all& ` k: M8 l$ X1 v% p1 G
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
6 b+ B* t! J; j( i: ?% {# dapartments are the way to go? No.& R- w/ x2 x* G+ L. S
( _0 P% D/ H0 O$ Z4 M4 l; X
6 I4 z" c }# q
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the e# _% Y6 h/ |- r$ K) Z6 x. M
situation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this9 ?$ ` o" ?( f9 U# D
'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
9 r. r. ], z9 f% }, `- zno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so5 g: R }- D, S
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant9 b) c+ J/ @1 H* F( p! i# }% t+ o
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless$ g& q" a, s Y* d0 a2 J
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is- W3 F. r5 n5 N# t4 Y5 Q6 Y
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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