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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+ H6 E, o: R' T% y0 U/ P1 U
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider4 U+ [- _: |, K2 Q6 J
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"+ Y- V5 X$ l% ?, k' F; Z
city. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
6 k2 w3 l, r% `, U/ z4 RAccording to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
& l7 I( N8 Z2 A( Z0 M1 m; D6 O3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of' V7 k) L, e4 N3 |: C/ A2 o
Manchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within
& t; y( o/ y' O% f9 M6 G. s1 G1 nhutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among9 J5 x9 Y. y( |5 s, f' [' ^2 q
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
2 [% a6 a4 M% l) F+ band Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is3 S, l8 Q. ?. _+ {
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
( p8 W5 A/ ?+ L6 h2 \descended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
7 G. c7 i8 ^' g# G- c* A$ Q; Rforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
! ^5 b* p/ z/ iwas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great
; M1 r$ `( x3 m8 {. L6 K; Pimpression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
# i- _3 e0 Y; R5 p& V3 W9 zand we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong
1 `, Y+ V2 d5 [. y) D) Yhas a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment7 p( S6 F1 Q3 i( R" _. C" c, @
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that+ n: V1 @5 t$ H; S. K5 U+ @
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
' g' a& `% d+ honly enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a( D6 v5 }- I% }
sort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
( E+ U- S. p; _4 Kwant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move
s2 a7 P8 m0 B# u6 k, uto the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is- M( K/ T! p3 A" N5 `
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact, O' L+ w2 W) c+ f2 C6 c# x) O
this movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
7 v8 V3 h( I& ]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' d! P4 ^8 M9 ~
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make( i* \( u. p7 c# T! k
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was9 x9 ~+ i: H: K* s7 g
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a5 W1 f$ \9 i" a
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across
5 N* s' ]' Y% x" z4 sthe 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$ z4 T c0 p# c* F; {! u
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for4 ], C/ V Y# g% H) f5 c
development.
Hutongs
& J, ]3 b* @% V# u1 y3 oin the old days were residential area where people actually lived
( v( b; H% F" w. z' uthere. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
; G) h; F" K! C4 u9 bin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not. U; n& U3 L/ E1 K$ k
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you
2 }9 }; O" y3 mwill have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.( U( F S g- `2 Q
Furthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
0 I) [- l3 i( w# C3 x4 c8 bto support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used% {) }/ u$ w& }: \
to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
. S' G/ ~; h, Isupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically
. `3 Z9 S* Z# A- Uunfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to( l' c+ x- ~3 \- y& U! U
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,
& {) o- |/ W7 L( ^hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the
4 U1 n: ~; Y% P3 Z \- r+ ybalance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the- K4 w2 M4 @8 o5 ~" W7 Y: a
project into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be8 U( Z! M; U8 z" V# g/ m
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
L( p. z1 \. L! v& ZMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
* A$ g: ^; U4 k7 L" xpeople lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be
: h( z3 ]* e f5 d* Q: ptorn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished
& c: }) f) B8 f- A9 f( @memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".( E+ ?- |1 c+ d
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are
, T% W" G. \- s1 ]aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially6 h" P/ m1 U: k: G4 g, y8 w
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
6 ], ^6 Z8 u" _5 ~; D- Aof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these1 ~, _9 S7 z- i3 `- Y. X, X
Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those: k; M. u/ B9 ^$ w( w
people who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they
6 G6 R+ a3 C3 w3 S6 vmay appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some4 K& ~4 O2 s6 \ L! `/ b+ w
of the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before
+ @- ]5 ]3 P1 i4 k+ U' X3 J"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all
: }; O+ M) G& t/ b9 Xpeople needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
) l% k2 k% {- [6 u1 ]+ Bapartments are the way to go? No.
# I4 ^) @4 T( k D / J/ M6 M+ H+ S9 I
2 D2 v3 C1 v: m% _* U+ C
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
! ?3 W8 x* p! x) o) Usituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
! `9 b" s+ x& J'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make
6 d6 H, U% V5 J% P: uno money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so
' C, D2 ^: {8 A& T# m- \fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant* [/ G- O+ z- r/ c" D B6 n& t' @
resistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless3 q& `2 M0 N* z1 i4 _
Beijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is, n8 T* f& \" ~# ]) F; ^# C, E
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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