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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+ F; U( ~- Z; R2 q* `3 m: ~
architecture style is supreme throughout China. Please do not consider3 I" U9 [ h" ?2 L& I- R1 J' m
Beijing as just an "Imperial City". It in fact, is a more "civilian"
; V- x c+ I) H; kcity. Hutong or alley way is the kernel of Beijing's culture.
8 w. F" T+ B. c) b& ?According to some books, there were 1,200 hutongs in Yuan Dynasty,
$ ]+ y) l- y; h3 _3,600 hutongs in Ming Dynasty, and over 6,000 hutongs at the end of
: @5 n7 L( R1 |6 m" AManchu Qing Dynasty. Most of the hutongs are well preserved until 1999.
Within, x1 `. H0 ^2 b) Y1 k( U
hutongs, the citizens maintain a good neighborhood relationship among# t4 `, R7 G9 s
each other. Senior citizens play Chinese chess or listen to Peking Opera
/ D0 E6 t4 \% e) V! mand Pingju. Children play outside. The atmosphere in hutong is" _% T7 @) o- `3 ]+ F+ r* ~
harmonious. The architectural styles of hutong are diverse, but all are
& p3 L( ^3 @6 x& W% edescended from traditional Chinese culture. Many great events and
* V: u3 t, G+ e& Vforms of culture emerged in hutong.
I
' h4 P4 G+ k$ owas born in Beijing hutong. My childhood leaves me a great; V: ?/ H, F& Y! k( v
impression. In 1990, the hutong where my home stood was demolished,
/ a5 B! V# b1 l2 band we have to move into residential skyscrapers. You know, this hutong$ P E; v& I" |& G* Q& X$ K
has a history of more than 400 years!
Since 1999, the demolishment4 ]" i5 D M4 h+ k; | T, _: T, y
of hutong has been a common thing in Beijing. There has been said that: Y) _: p2 I. E; v6 m9 |. r
no hutongs will stand after 2008. Many people from outside Beijing are
2 A; [7 w* Q' f( z {8 `% }only enthusiastic in "enjoying" skyscrapers, they consider hutong as a
1 `. m% _3 j9 e, Esort of under modernized structure. They, along with the government
/ I1 \) j" _/ w; m7 \/ swant to demolish them and replace them with meaningless skyscrapers. In 2004, more than 10,000 households in hutongs were forced to move# ^% Q1 X# y& J2 Q
to the suburbs. The official reason of "Hutong Demolish Movement" is2 J# v# Z7 N( x" [: K- ]3 d
"modernization", or "preparing for the Olympic Games", but in fact,
6 f- B C: }- jthis movement has nothing to do with the modernization and Olympics: citizens in hutong are
( a3 ~" v3 z# i/ Y: C6 `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* X4 s; f. J& |$ O/ K1 h) a U o L
"progress." But, it unfortunately happens all over the world to make ]7 ^: j' h( y
money for big business... including the very town I live in. There was9 d6 j+ O1 \6 v' N+ E
a beautiful Methodist Church that was demolished to make way for a) v( T7 d) E: r' U6 s! |/ {
parking lot... it was built in the early 1700's. The graveyard across& K; \$ Z7 o, 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/ f. T: Z; x' X9 W/ j% b6 H c0 f
importance , I also support that some hutongs have to be torn down for
2 r3 Q' r8 k2 Wdevelopment.
Hutongs- c9 u. s2 Z4 A& G6 D6 R3 x
in the old days were residential area where people actually lived9 N" h2 Z$ i3 F! u/ P/ g
there. The same cannot be said for today because the living conditions
0 d6 v( |) Q% A( V" d8 K2 w, bin hutongs are not up to standard. The houses within the hutongs do not) o: H& y$ N! y. R/ g2 s+ v
have plumbing and electricity, and if you want to install that, you8 f7 w- b# y ~5 B7 K0 f. S
will have to pay a high cost in building a system just for the hutongs.
' h$ ^5 {3 z( W7 ~5 [# \" LFurthermore, the style of the houses, four combination, is out of date
9 T3 l' d# m) u9 U. ito support the mobile population in modern day Beijing. The houses used
) h! Y! i! z1 M. u# {to hold a whole family within them, while modern apartments and houses
. J1 U, e" X S e6 [; csupport a nucleus family. That said, the hutongs are economically" [# `% q5 I' o* f9 {5 D1 s5 t
unfeasible for ordinary people. I for one, do not see the reason to) w2 O u6 c; C* {) O6 N
live in a hutong with the traditional houses. Losing its main purpose,9 \2 S: l# g4 w( w& H1 W- Z
hutong is only a tourist attraction.
The best way to find the1 f8 v1 q: o3 u' X
balance between development and cultural perservation is to confine the
( n! o# g( z' q1 h- ]' r( Iproject into a district. Within this district, the hutongs should be- z# u# j, m9 e% |! @$ x9 Z) x
renovated to show the old face of Beijing. They should build a Hutong
) ^/ |9 j3 P6 s# L' i/ ?0 Z# _1 R) jMuseum and allow people to actually walk into the houses to see how
5 o# W. U" i! ` w& |people lived in them. The hutongs outside of the district should be% V; f, E" H3 R: f+ E! V& v: j
torn down or transformed into something else.
TwinkieDP:
I'm sorry that your cherished/ S9 V% Q6 x' f3 [* C
memories of Old Beijing is being destroyed in the Path of "progress".7 `8 v/ _2 _% H. W" J
Nothing against preservation of Hutongs, but I think my feelings are+ x$ S5 R1 I' p3 g
aligned with Ashura's. When people outside of China (especially. h6 k; I- K- [$ Q! V/ s
non-Chinese) think about the Cultural treasures of Beijing, the image
, H1 Z1 X) v) D. Tof the Hutongs is hardly brought up. I've seen pictures of these
' k6 L2 V& |. m( @Hutongs, and I'm sure these peaceful neighborhoods mean a lot to those
# s! G5 G4 B. k- C' W3 bpeople who have lived their for generations, but to the outsider they f, L) A, t" z X" ~
may appear to be outdated and substandard living quarters. I agree some
) u G6 i& D# a: e5 t' rof the cultural aspects showing how ordinary people lived before$ ` `. `. e+ g$ b! N
"modernization" should be preserved, but living standards for all! \; f9 f" }1 c6 c" s8 z
people needs to continually improve. Am I saying that high-rise
' T' z: {& ?# K8 G* }' Papartments are the way to go? No.3 e' n$ T5 V$ c
7 c6 P7 T/ t' l; c
8 E: y }& P' o. Y9 h% {
Howard Fu:
I have great sympathy for you and Beijing's old Hutongs. But the
" F& T/ B# \6 `0 h9 x3 b" tsituation is sad. There are big economy interest behind this
$ ]: g- U8 n' Q; X8 a% S- W2 A5 Z'progress'. Real estate businessmen and government officials would make+ o0 U1 ]) m# D) ~
no money if they leave all the hutongs there. And they are moving so' Z+ h* l Q) a
fast, there will be no hutong left after 2008 before any significant
' _5 ?6 k1 U( l( O" H. D. v9 Lresistant opinion formed. This 'progress' is unlikely to stop unless
8 N& D1 I7 o1 R% HBeijing's estate market have a sudden dive before 2008 which is# H# V7 O4 r4 F8 e; b7 k) B1 S
unlikely to happen too. Sad!
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